Ottawa jewish bulletin 2015 09 21 by The Ottawa Jewish Bulletin

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Inspiring FED Talks and comedy launch 2016 Annual Campaign BY LOUISE RACHLIS

‘T

his is a minga,’ said keynote speaker Marc Kielburger during his presentation at the 2016 Annual Campaign Kickoff of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, September 9, at Centrepointe Theatre. A minga, he explained, means “the coming together of people to work for the benefit of all.” Kielburger learned the word from a community leader in the Andes when Free the Children, the group he co-founded with his brother Craig Kielburger, was building its first school in the South American mountains. When the group was having difficulties with construction and with the donkeys being used to transport materials up the mountain, the leader told him, “I will call a minga. Tomorrow there will be a minga. No problem.” When the sun came up, the entire community, as well as some from further

away, marched up the mountain to help ﬁnish the school. Empowering young people to work for the greater good was the essence of Kielburger’s talk. He explained that he and his brother have worked with 2.3 million young people in 10,000 schools throughout Canada and the United States through their Me to We program. Two of them were Ottawa Jewish Community School students Haley Miller and Sadie SiderEchenberg, who helped to introduce him by telling their own story of a project last year that earned their Grade 6 class the right to attend We Day, a celebration of students’ social justice projects that Me to We holds annually in 14 cities, including Ottawa. “We will never forget this experience,” the girls said. Kielburger said he was honoured to speak in support of the Federation Annual Campaign. “Think about how to get the See Kickoff on page 2

HOWARD SANDLER

Marc Kielburger says the Jewish Federation 2016 Annual Campaign Kickoff is a minga: “the coming together of people to work for the benefit of all.”

Federal election candidates discuss issues of concern to Jewish community BY MICHAEL REGENSTREIF EDITOR

ith the campaign for the October 19 federal election campaign well under way, the Communications and Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa organized a series of roundtable discussions with Ottawa-area candidates representing

inside:

each of the four main national parties contesting the election between August 31 and September 3. Each of the parties was asked to respond to a series of similar questions of concern to the Jewish community regarding Canada’s relationship with Israel; whether Canada should continue to apply sanctions on Iran in light of its nuclear program, state sponsorship of

Jason Moscovitz on what politicians will say to get elected > p. 7

terrorism and calls for the destruction of Israel; the role of ethnic communities and their agencies in the planning , funding and delivery of federal social services; the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission regarding Aboriginal residential schools; the Federal Security Infrastructure Program to protect at-risk communities from hate-motivated crimes; and on

The signiﬁcance of Shemini Atzeret > p. 19

diplomatic interventions to secure restitution for Holocaust survivors. The candidate turnout varied by party. The New Democratic Party was represented by the most number of candidates at seven. The Green Party sent four candidates; the Conservative Party, three; and the Liberal Party, two. See pages 4, 5, 10 and 11 for the reports.

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Kickoff: ‘Inspiring and empowering future generations’ Continued from page 1

next generation involved, and how we can all heal the world,” he urged the audience. Indeed, as event Co-Chair Stacy Goldstein of the Ben-Gurion Society of Ottawa explained, the kickoff event’s theme was “L’dor v’dor: From Generation to Generation – Inspiring and Empowering Future Generations.” The kickoff was organized by the Ben-Gurion Society of Ottawa, a group of 31 young Jewish professionals, who have accepted the torch of leadership and philanthropy. “The Ben-Gurion Society,” said Goldstein, is a networking forum for young Jewish professionals in their 20s and 30s, who are actively engaged in signiﬁcant leadership roles and philanthropy in the Ottawa Jewish community.” Goldstein said the Ben-Gurion Society represents the next generation of Jewish lay leaders in Ottawa. “We are all unique in our connection to the Jewish community,” she said, “but this we share: We are motivated. We are committed. We are proud. We are the future.” Goldstein introduced the evening’s FED Talks format (modelled on the well-known TED Talks). She noted the evening was planned to provide “entertainment, inspiration and an opportunity to understand the impact of your campaign support on the entire Ottawa Jewish community.” In addition to Kielburger, there were

CORRECTIONS Rabbi Barry Schlesinger’s congregational affiliation was incorrectly identified in the From the Pulpit column in the September 7 issue. He is, in fact, spiritual leader of Agudath Israel Congregation. The first sentence in the feature on adult Jewish education in the September 7 issue was truncated. The full sentence is “The students are eager, and enrolment is growing in many of the adult Jewish education programs taking place in the Ottawa area.” A photo caption in the September 7 issue about the program In Memory and Remembrance with Holocaust scholar Florence Luxenberg-Eisenberg and survivor Paul Hartal to be presented at the Canadian War Museum included an incorrect date. The program will take place Wednesday, October 14, 7 pm.

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presentations by the New York-based Allison Josephs, founder and director of the Jew in the City blog, which does Jewish outreach, and comedian and Ottawa native Jon Steinberg. Campaign Chair Jeffrey Miller and Women’s Campaign Chair Sharon Appotive also spoke and showed the 2016 Annual Campaign video. Miller and Appotive thanked those in attendance for “coming out and showing your support” and also thanked “the new generation of community leaders” represented by the Ben-Gurion Society. The Campaign chairs also called attention to the program’s generation-to-generation theme. “Tonight’s guest speakers will focus on engagement and why it matters and how each of us needs to take responsibility for our community’s future as a debt we owe to our predecessors and as our gift to our children, grandchildren and future generations,” said Appotive. Calling attention to the Annual Campaign’s crucial role in supporting the work of Federation and its beneﬁciary agencies, Miller said it was imperative “to increase both the number of contributors to the campaign and the amount that we raise.” Miller and Appotive offered a Top 10 list of reasons to support the Annual Campaign, including supporting such core Jewish values as tikkun olam, chesed and tzedakah and – in keeping with the evening’s theme – honouring previous generations and providing for younger generations. Number one on the Top 10 list, they said, is that “no other gift touches more lives. With one gift to the Federations’ annual campaign, you have the ability, you have the power, to impact the life of every member of Ottawa’s Jewish Community, young and old, well or in need of assistance.” They also announced that Michael Polowin will succeed Miller as campaign chair next year. Josephs, wearing a bright red skirt and black top, said “Orthodox Judaism links people to a Jewish heritage that is just as relevant today as it ever was.” She was just eight years old, she said, when she realized that “something was missing from my life.” Growing up in the New Jersey suburbs, she felt the seconds of her life ticking away on a giant Swatch

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HOWARD SANDLER

(From left) Comedian Jon Steinberg, Campaign Chair Jeffrey Miller, Women’s Campaign Chair Sharon Appotive, Federation President and CEO Andrea Freedman, Kickoff Co-Chair Stacey Goldstein, speakers Allison Josephs and Marc Kielburger at the 2016 Annual Campaign Kickoff.

HOWARD SANDLER

Ottawa Jewish Community School students Sadie Sider-Echenberg (left) and Haley Miller introduce speaker Marc Kielburger at the 2016 Annual Campaign Kickoff, September 9, at Centrepointe Theatre.

watch that decorated her room. On a family trip to Hawaii, she was in a rainforest she thought must have looked like the Garden of Eden and said, “God has quite a paintbrush.” She looked up and suddenly knew that “everything has its time and its place.” During his performance, the bushyhaired Steinberg said all of today’s comed-

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ians, Jewish or not, have been influenced by Jewish comedians. “Encourage your kids to do comedy. It’s a very rewarding career,” he said with a straight face.“Fifteen years in the business, and I finally hit six figures – cumulatively.” To make a gift to the Annual Campaign, contact Dawn Paterson at 613-798-4696, ext. 272.

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September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

Rabbi Scher installed as new spiritual leader of Machzikei Hadas; Rabbi Bulka becomes rabbi emeritus BY MONIQUE ELLIOT

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rust my instinct when I say this candidate has it.’ That is what Rudy Appotive, then-president of Congregation Machzikei Hadas, said to his son upon hiring “that rookie rabbi from New York,” Rabbi Reuven P. Bulka, as the modern Orthodox congregation’s new spiritual leader in 1967. Rudy Appotive’s son, Stephen Appotive, himself now a past-president of Machzikei Hadas, repeated those words as Rabbi Idan Scher was installed as the congregation’s ﬁrst new spiritual leader in 48 years, and Rabbi Bulka was appointed rabbi emeritus at a ceremony, September 1, at the synagogue in Alta Vista. More than 450 people packed the sanctuary at Machzikei Hadas to celebrate what many described as a “bittersweet” and “historic” occasion. Charles Wiseman, the current Machzikei Hadas president, Mayor Jim Watson, and Andrea Freedman, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of

Ottawa, all praised Rabbis Bulka and Scher for their collective – and respective – dedication, energy, passion, ideas and leadership. “People just wanted to be a part of this. Rabbi Bulka has been in this position for 48 years, and in that time he’s built the stature of the rabbi at Machzikei Hadas, elevated it to a level that probably no one ever expected possible,” said Rabbi Michael Goldstein, the congregation’s executive director, who served as MC for the ceremony. “And so, when that chair is being ﬁlled by somebody else, it is a big deal. Not just for Machzikei, but for the Ottawa Jewish community, for the Canadian Jewish community, for Canadian society. The person who ﬁlls this chair has an impact much beyond the walls of the synagogue.” Rabbi Scher became spiritual leader of Machzikei Hadas after serving as the congregation’s associate rabbi over the past year. Rabbi Scher said he was humbled at the recognition and praise he received during

HOWARD SANDLER

“The puck stops here,” says Rabbi Reuven Bulka reading the inscription engraved on the puck he presented to Rabbi Idan Scher along with a mini-Ottawa Senators hockey stick at the rabbinic installation ceremony, September 1, at Congregation Machzikei Hadas. Rabbi Scher plays in the SJCC’s Jewish Men’s Hockey League.

HOWARD SANDLER

Rabbi Reuven Bulka (left) and Rabbi Idan Scher banter during an interview session at the rabbinic installation ceremony, September 1, at Congregation Machzikei Hadas.

the installation and unveiled his “threepronged” approach: focusing on Judaism that speaks deeply to everyone; reaching beyond the shul; and focusing on the Machzikei Hadas family. “I’m ready,” Rabbi Scher said. “I’m feeling great and quite overwhelmed … after a year of being here, to know that there’s this many people cheering me on. It’s something you don’t see very often. It’s incredible.” Rabbi Bulka said the position of rabbi emeritus is not something he takes lightly. “It means a lot,” said Rabbi Bulka. “One thing it does signify is an eternal link between me and [my wife] Leah and the congregation. And that is priceless.” Rabbi Bulka added that becoming rabbi emeritus allows for some continuity, and for him to spend more time with his grandchildren; but that he will be around for many years to come. In a move Rabbi Bulka described as “a little unorthodox,” the two rabbis set up chairs and engaged in an interview, reminiscent of Rabbi Bulka’s radio show, bantering for the crowd.

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During the interview, the two rabbis praised each other. “I know a lot of people have made mention of some of the sterling qualities that you have, the energy that you have, the personableness that you have, your great ideas, the capacity you have to engage people of all ages … but the thing that impressed me more than anything else, is the phenomenal respect you have for tradition,” Rabbi Bulka told his successor. “You think of Rabbi Bulka, and you think of someone who walks among people and just clearly stands out as the embodiment of every one of our cherished values of Judaism. And when you think about it, who amongst Canadian Jewry is a greater ambassador than Rabbi Bulka? It’s an unbelievable thing,” said Rabbi Scher. When Rabbi Bulka asked Rabbi Scher about how he developed his rabbinic skills, the younger rabbi pointed to the inﬂuence of his late grandparents and his parents and said the best way he could live up to their examples was to become a rabbi.

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September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

Conservative Party stresses unconditional support for Israel BY BENITA BAKER

alling Canada “Israel’s best friend in the world,” Pierre Poilievre pledged that a re-elected Conservative government would continue to build upon Canada’s “wonderful” friendship with the Jewish state. Poilievre was one of three Conservative candidates who met with Jewish Federation of Ottawa representatives in a roundtable discussion organized by the Federation’s Communications and Community Relations Committee on August 31. Poilievre – still minister of employment and social development and minister of State for democratic reform – represented the former riding of Nepean–Carleton in the last Parliament and is now the Conservative Party candidate in the new riding of Carleton. He was joined at the discussion by candidates Abdul Abdi (Ottawa West–Nepean) and Andy Wang (Nepean). “This is a unique position for our country to stand with Israel,” said Polievre. “Not just when it’s easy, but when it is most difﬁcult, even if it means standing alone sometimes.” Asked why the Conservative government’s support for Israel has been unconditional and unquestioning of certain policies and actions of the Israeli

MICHAEL REGENSTREIF

(From left) Federation representative Jonathan Calof; Conservative Party candidates Abdul Abdi, Pierre Poilievre and Andy Wang; and Federation representatives Jonathan Freedman and Mike Shahin pose following their roundtable discussion, August 31.

government, Poilievre said the approach “balances off the very extreme and the all too common position taken by other countries that have attempted to isolate the one and only fully functioning democracy in the Middle East.” But, is this balance beneﬁcial to the peace process? “Yes,” replied Polievre. “We believe in a democratic and demilitarized Palestinian homeland. At the same time, that can only

happen when Israel is safe and secure and recognized as a long-standing aboriginal homeland of the Jewish people.” Abdi and Wang agreed. “The ultimate result is to ensure that we have a safe, secure Israel,” said Abdi. “It is important for countries like Canada to speak out against terrorism and to identity it as the cause of the conﬂict in the Middle East,” said Polievre. “All the major incidents that have happened over the last decade – Hezbollah attacks in the north, Hamas rockets in the south – in all of those cases it was the terrorists who were the provocateurs and it was Canada that stood almost alone in pointing to that fact. I don’t think we need for yet another country to blame Israel for the actions of terrorists. We provided balance by pointing out who was really responsible.” Asked whether the Federal Security Infrastructure Program would be expanded to help protect schools and

synagogues from possible hate crimes, Poilievre declined to comment, saying that he could not make a policy statement. However, Abdi, a constable currently on leave from the Ottawa Police Service, said he would support any program that promotes a safe community. The candidates were evasive when asked about the role of ethnic communities and their agencies in the planning, funding and delivery of federal social services, including affordable housing and senior care. Wang stressed the need to build a strong economy and said the home renovation tax credit proposed by Conservative leader Stephen Harper would assist seniors in making their homes more accessible while Poilievre mentioned several initiatives already implemented, including an increase in the Guaranteed Income Supplement, the increased amount people can put in their Tax Free Savings Account and the extension of the Employment Insurance compassionate leave period to six months from six weeks. The candidates also emphasized the friendship of the Conservative Party with the Jewish community. Abdi, a Muslim, said he would help bring the Jewish and Muslim communities together to collaborate and learn from each other and pointed to the 11-year-old Ottawa program promoting friendship and understanding among Grade 6 students at the predominately Muslim Charles H. Hulse Public School and the Ottawa Jewish Community School. “If they can start these discussions in elementary schools, we can do a lot more work in the wider community,” he said. “I can be an ambassador to both communities.”

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NDP would maintain friendship with Israel but would be critical when called for BY MICHAEL REGENSTREIF EDITOR

hile a New Democratic Party (NDP) government would maintain Canada’s strong friendship and support for Israel, government-to-government relations, when necessary, would be more nuanced than they’ve been under the current Conservative government, said Paul Dewar, the incumbent MP running for re-election in Ottawa Centre, at a roundtable discussion with Jewish Federation of Ottawa representatives on September 3. Dewar, the NDP foreign affairs critic, was joined at the discussion, organized by the Federation’s Communications and Community Relations Committee, by fellow NDP candidates George Brown (Ottawa South), Sean Devine (Nepean), Kc Larocque (Carleton), Marlene Rivier (Ottawa West–Nepean), Emilie Taman (Ottawa–Vanier) and Nancy Tremblay (Orléans). Dewar differentiated friendship between countries from unconditional support for the policies of a government or particular political leaders. “Friends, sometimes, should be able to criticize friends,” said Dewar, citing statements by Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu near the end of Israel’s election campaign this year about Arab voters and distancing himself from a two-state solution to Israel’s conﬂict with the Palestinians as examples of what an NDP government would object to. An NDP government, Dewar said, would be “constructively critical,” when necessary, but would certainly maintain and expand Canada’s strong diplomatic and trade relationships with Israel. The NDP, he added, supports Israel’s right to defend itself from regional threats – including terrorist attacks. Dewar said the NDP supports the nuclear deal negotiated between Iran and the P5+1 nations. Canadian sanctions meant to cripple Iran’s nuclear program, he said, should be lifted in concert with our allies, when it is veriﬁed that Iran is complying with the deal. However, Dewar also said that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism and Canada should also work with our allies to curtail such activity. Asked about the role of ethnic communities and their agencies in the planning, funding and delivery of federal social services, Rivier cited the work of such agencies as Jewish Family Services of Ottawa, and said an NDP government “would support and encourage” the

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(Front row, from left) NDP candidates Paul Dewar, Kc Larocque, Marlene Rivier, Sean Devine, Nancy Tremblay, Emilie Taman and George Brown; (rear) Federation representatives Mike Shahin, Jonathan Calof, Jonathan Freedman, Bram Bregman and Harold Feder pose following their roundtable discussion, September 3.

participation of communities and agencies. Dewar added that an NDP government would work much more closely with “local voices,” as well as with provinces and municipalities. “Give the tools to the people who deal with the problems,” he said, “and take advantage of community organizations.” Asked whether the Federal Security Infrastructure Program to protect at-risk communities from hate-motivated crimes would be expanded under an NDP government, Dewar expressed support for the program and said an evaluation to look at the program’s effects was needed. He foresaw the possibility of an expanded, “more integrated and more holistic” program. Taman, a federal prosecutor who left her

job to run as a candidate in the October 19 election when she was denied leave to do so, added there are tools within the criminal code that can and should be used in prosecuting hate-crimes. Dewar said the NDP was already committed to implementing several recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that studied the effects of Aboriginal residential schools and will look at others. Canada, he said, “needs to build a nation-to-nation relationship with First Nations and move to reconciliation.” Dewar also said time is running out to help Holocaust survivors still in need of restitution and said Canada must do whatever it can on the diplomatic front and in supporting public education on the Holocaust.

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FEDERATION REPORT

LINDA KERZNER CHAIR

he Jewish Federation of Ottawa 2016 Annual Campaign Kickoff was held with great success on September 9 and a canvasser inspiration night took place in late August to rally, educate and inspire our

Why I won’t ask for money 190 canvassers. This exceptional force is charged with the goal of raising more than $4.4 million needed annually to sustain our 22 beneﬁciary agencies and to support Jewish communities overseas and Israel. The Federation campaign ofﬁce is buzzing with activity: lists have been generated, emails sent, packages collated, team captains are in place and strategies are being outlined. Over 2,000 pledge cards have been distributed to canvassers. We should be very proud of the resources and efforts put in by all those volunteers and by the staff. And we are. But we need more help – more resources, more canvassers. Yet, how many of us feel sick at the idea of asking for money? “Ask me to help in any other way, but don’t ask me

to ask for money” is something we hear every day. It’s something many of us, including me, have said at some point. Asking for money conjures up many negative images and ideas. Longtime community canvassers laugh as they tell stories of how people cross the street when they see them coming. So, how do we do it, feel great about it, and never feel like we are asking for money? The secret to successfully asking for support is to ﬁnd out what you are most comfortable doing and do it. Many people know my husband Steven. He’s known to be quiet and somewhat shy with an impeccable reputation for being respectful and honourable. Steven was assigned one of the toughest and least popular jobs of all – handling

FROM THE PULPIT

A time for change

RABBI MENACHEM BLUM OTC CHABAD

he High Holidays are celebrated this year in the heat of a federal election campaign. Next month, Canadians will be going to the polls to vote for their new members of Parliament. Typical to an election campaign, each party leader is promising real change, if he or she is voted into power. Along with that, each candidate comes up with attacks against the others, claiming that the others cannot bring real change. One claims that his opponents lack the experience and therefore their promises for change are

not realistic. Another claims that his opponents have no intentions to bring change, but rather it is all a bluff. Interestingly, this hype about change is very relevant to us at this time of year. Every Rosh Hashanah, we face the same dilemma. On one hand, we truly want to effect change in our lives in the New Year. At the same time, we know how difﬁcult it is to change, and how easy it is to convince ourselves that we are changing when, in reality, it is more of the same. The sound of the shofar we heard on Rosh Hashanah is a wake-up call to all of us. Maimonides, in his Mishnei Torah, describes the call of the shofar this way: “Wake up you sleepers from your sleep and you slumberers from your slumber. Search your deeds and repent.” It is a call to all of us that says “the time for real change has come.” Are we expected to really change? What does it really mean? And how do we do it? The Hebrew word for repentance is teshuvah. My teacher, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, once pointed out that a more

literal and exact translation of the word teshuvah is to return. Repentance connotes forgetting the past, remorse, and an intention to start behaving in a completely new way. Returning, teshuvah, however, means coming back to the original past, to a natural pre-existing condition. The foundation of the concept of teshuvah is the notion that the Jew is, in essence, good. Desires or temptations may deﬂect us temporarily from being true to our essence. Teshuvah is therefore a return to the self. It means going back to our roots in God and exposing them as our true character. In light of the above, the change we are looking for is not really to become someone new. What is required of us is to return to our original self and reveal our true identity. This is especially accessible to us during the 10 Days of Teshuvah/Repentence. These 10 days begin with Rosh Hashanah and end with Yom Kippur. These days contain the energy that allows us the access to our true self and deeper identity. Wishing you and you and yours a Happy and Healthy Sweet New Year!

LETTERS WELCOME Letters to the Editor are welcome if they are brief, signed, timely, and of interest to our readership. The Bulletin reserves the right to refuse, edit or condense letters. The Mailbag column will be published as space permits. Send your letters to Michael Regenstreif, Ottawa Jewish Bulletin 21 Nadolny Sachs Private, Ottawa, ON K2A 1R9. Or by email to bulletin@ottawajewishbulletin.com

pledge arrears – and he pursues it with passion. His reputation for integrity and delivering on his promises inspires those he approaches to ensure they deliver on their promises to our community. Others canvassers are outstanding at face-to-face canvasses. They find, through personal conversation, what is most meaningful to the person they are meeting with. Then, together with staff, find a way for that donor, or potential donor, or lost donor, to achieve their goals within our community. So, no, I won’t ask for money. Instead, I ask you to give me the opportunity to help you do a mitzvah. A truly great mitzvah because the people and organizations you are supporting do not know who you are – and that’s the highest form of tzedakah. I won’t ask you for money, but I will ask you to lead the way by making your gift now, and fulfilling your Jewish responsibility for Tikkun Olam – repairing our community, and communities abroad and in Israel. And, once you’ve carried out your personal mitzvah, at whatever level is right for you, and in whatever way is meaningful to you, then proudly help others fulfil their own by canvassing even one person. I guarantee you that helping that one donor to help others will be gratifying beyond your expectations.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin VOLUME 80 | ISSUE 1 Ottawa Jewish Bulletin Publishing Co. Ltd. 21 Nadolny Sachs Private, Ottawa, K2A 1R9 Tel: 613 798-4696 | Fax: 613 798-4730 Email: bulletin@ottawajewishbulletin.com Published 19 times per year. © Copyright 2015 PUBLISHER Andrea Freedman EDITOR Michael Regenstreif PRODUCTION MANAGER Brenda Van Vliet BUSINESS MANAGER Barry Silverman The Bulletin, established in 1937 as “a force for constructive communal consciousness,” communicates the messages of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa and its agencies and, as the city’s only Jewish newspaper, welcomes a diversity of opinion as it strives to inform and enrich the community. Viewpoints expressed in these pages do not necessarily represent the policies and values of the Federation. The Bulletin cannot vouch for the kashrut of advertised products or establishments unless they are certified by Ottawa Vaad HaKashrut or a rabbinic authority recognized by OVH. $36 Local Subscription | $40 Canada $60 USA | $179 Overseas | $2 per issue We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage. ISSN: 1196-1929 Publication Mail Agreement No. 40018822 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Ottawa Jewish Bulletin 21 Nadolny Sachs Private, Ottawa ON K2A 1R9

September 21, 2015

FROM THE EDITOR

OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

Canada must somehow act during the Syrian refugee crisis

MICHAEL REGENSTREIF

IDEAS AND IMPRESSIONS

’m writing this column on September 11 – just before this issue of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin goes to press and just before we close our ofﬁce for Rosh Hashanah – and the news over the past several weeks, and, indeed, our federal election campaign, has been dominated by the Syrian refugee crisis. With millions of refugees in camps in Jordan and Turkey and with thousands upon thousands attempting to ﬁnd safety in Europe, it has been described it as the worst humanitarian crisis since the Second World War. The world’s collective hearts were broken early this month, when a photo of the drowned body of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, washed up on a Turkish beach after the small boat his family was in capsized. The boat, meant to hold a maximum of eight people, carried 16 desperate refugees.

JASON MOSCOVITZ

learned a crucial lesson about politics a long time ago. I was doing a story on the late Bryce Mackasey, a Pierre Trudeau-era cabinet minister and was going door to door with him in Hamilton during the 1980 election campaign. That was when Trudeau returned as Liberal leader after he had resigned following his defeat by Joe Clark in 1979. Trudeau’s return was surprising, but not shocking. Polls indicated he would probably win the 1980 election – which he did. At one doorstep in Hamilton that winter day, the resident told Mackasey she was a long-time Liberal, but she would not vote liberal in that election because she couldn’t stand Trudeau and

MILOS BICANSKI/GETTY IMAGES

Refugees board a ferry to take them to Athens at the Greek island of Kos, August 14, 2015.

The young boy’s mother and brother also drowned and the father was the family’s only survivor. The Kurdi family’s tragedy hit particularly hard here in this country, when we learned the family had hoped ultimately to join relatives already in Canada. The Syrian refugee crisis is not a new phenomenon. The brutal civil war, which has seen hundreds of thousands killed and millions more displaced from their homes, has been raging for more than four years. The terrible situation in Syria was incomprehensibly tragic and unbearable even before ISIS inserted itself into the conﬂict in 2014, making everything

unimaginably worse. It was seemingly impossible to ﬁnd a credible faction in the civil war worthy of support. All seemed to be brutal and cruel and with no regard for the innocent civilians whose ways of life – if not their very lives – were being destroyed. Watching these events from afar, Canadians want our government to do something to help solve the problem – but we watch with a feeling of helplessness, knowing that no matter how many refugees we bring to Canada, it will solve but a drop in the bucket of human suffering. Still, though, we need to see our country do something. And, so, it was heartbreak-

Politicians will say almost anything to get elected didn’t think he should have come out of retirement. “Don’t worry,” Mackasey assured her, “we’ll get rid of him before the next election.” The lesson is as simple as it is crude. Politicians will say almost anything to get elected. They will seize a moment or they will make an elaborate plan based on what they think voters want or need to hear. It doesn’t matter if what they are saying is necessarily true or entirely consistent with what they and their party traditionally stood for. Getting elected is what matters most. Sometimes, it is a matter of what is not said. In this campaign, you had to know the NDP was getting close to winning when it removed its convention-generated policy positions from the party website. After all, there could be all those left wing positions, many of which are consistent with where the NDP has stood; but, so much for standing up for what you believe in when you are looking for votes. As this campaign progresses, there are more examples of saying what best works in the moment to make voters feel good about your party. What makes this

campaign particularly fascinating is how the main opposition parties have developed opposed economic positions, which they think are the winning formulas regardless of where the NDP and the Liberals have traditionally lined up. In emphasizing how the NDP will balance the budget upon election, Thomas Mulcair is disavowing what the federal NDP has believed in as a remedy for difficult economic times. It has always been their mantra that government and public spending are the way to prime the economy and create jobs. Deficits were seen by the federal NDP from its traditional seat in opposition as necessary offshoots of moving the economy along in downturns. It is now the Liberals who are advocating that very thing. The Liberals have moved markedly to the left of the NDP in this election and those Liberal cries of no deficits, “come hell or high water,” are echoes of a political past that have also been discarded. Justin Trudeau has found a place in this campaign even if he has to sound like an NDPer to do it. Agree with him or not, you have to give him credit for finding

ing to open the morning newspaper today and learn that Canada’s immigration department, the department responsible for processing refugee applications, returned more than $350 million in unspent funds to the Canadian treasury between 2011 and 2014. Those unspent dollars imply Canada has not done all we could – or even what we have budgeted for – since the crisis began. As Jews, we know something of what it means to be refugees. Many of our ancestors arrived in Canada between the 1880s and 1920s ﬂeeing the brutal anti-Semitic pogroms of Eastern Europe. More Jews arrived in Canada after the Second World War as Holocaust survivors; and more again when life became unbearable for Jews in many Muslim countries following the creation of the State of Israel. And we remember when the Canadian government’s policy toward Jewish refugees attempting to ﬂee the Holocaust was “none is too many.” The Syrian refugee crisis is incredibly complicated, and I can’t pretend to have any answers as to how much we can possibly do now to alleviate the crisis – or what ultimately can be done to end the civil war that has brought about this seemingly unresolvable, catastrophic situation. We live in a world that seems to be so cruelly extreme on so many levels. I do know, though, that Canada, indeed the world, cannot just stand by. We must do something.

political ground under his feet and fighting for it. Trudeau is using the same public funding formula that Kathleen Wynne used in the last Ontario election. But that shouldn’t be surprising as many of his advisers worked for Wynne then. What might be surprising is that many of those same people advised “hell or high water” finance minister Paul Martin when he cut the deficit 20 years ago. Consistency and politics are not natural soul mates. Being in power, Conservative leader Stephen Harper can make actions speak louder than words, such as Canadian families receiving first-time child benefit cheques in the mail – hundreds of dollars in some cases – just weeks before the election call. It looked like a blatant effort to buy votes; if not the policy, then at least the timing, and it gets us back to the same question of consistency. Be assured that, in opposition, Harper would have denounced the sending of those cheques on the eve of an election call. But, we live in the present not the past, and, if the present is about saying what enhances your chances of winning, why not do the apparently popular thing and follow opposition cries to allow more Syrian migrants into Canada. But Stephen Harper is not changing the rules or the numbers. Being consistent can actually be costly politically.

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

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ALICE IN SHANDEHLAND The story told in Alice in Shandehland (Book Review, August 17) illustrates a change in Canadian society of interest to everyone, not just Jews. The shooting happened November 24, 1931. The trial began January 14, 1932 and ended with acquittal on January 16, 1932. So, less than a century ago, it was possible for a major murder trial to be tried and ﬁnished in less than two months from the event that brought it on. A glance at any newspaper today shows this would be inconceivable now. Murray Citron MIRA SUCHAROV I was very sorry to learn that Mira Sucharov’s column in the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin has been terminated. Hers was an informed, thoughtful, measured voice offering alternative perspectives on a host of issues important to our community. She often challenged her readers to think differently from the mainstream, but she was never casually provocative. She wrote from a place of love for and commitment to Judaism and the Jewish people. Usually she raised more questions than she answered. Sucharov’s perspective was different enough from others in the Bulletin and her writing ﬁne enough that the column always seemed fresh. Her voice added a dimension not usually found in a community newspaper. No doubt some readers were unhappy with her take on certain issues – especially Israeli politics. However, I suspect many others appreciated that Sucharov could articulate misgivings and doubts they themselves were less able to express. Her voice enriched the Bulletin and made it a more vibrant and interesting paper. Her departure is truly a loss. I am troubled, too, by Sucharov’s comments in her

final column that her political perspective cost her a leadership position at a Jewish community institution (Values, Ethics, Community, August 17). Though highly critical of the Israeli occupation, Sucharov still stands squarely within big-tent Zionism. Just as we need a Bulletin that reflects the broad spectrum of thinking within our community, we also need institutions that do so, rather than leadership by like-minded cliques. Gabriella Goliger MIRA SUCHAROV I have followed Mira Sucharov’s columns in the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin and in the many other publications she writes for and I agree that it was time to end her column. However, I also disagree with Bob Dale’s contention that Sucharov stands outside the Zionist tent (Mailbag, September 7). I believe she is sincere in her love for Israel and just wants Israel to fulfil the Zionist promise of its founders. I don’t think she has ever said very much that doesn’t reflect the opinions of centrist and left-leaning Israelis, a group that encompasses about 50 per cent of all Israelis. But, I do think that Sucharov did herself no favours with the arrogant way she often wrote. For example, I recall one column in which she talked about saving Israel from itself; another in which she prescribed who is and who is not an acceptable speaker at community events; or in the way she claims her views lost her a leadership position in the Jewish community. I would suggest it wasn’t her views that lost her the position. Rather, it was the polarizing way in which she expressed those views. Community leaders need to bring people together, not drive them apart. Helen Shapiro

From Fear to Love Mindful Meditation with Jewish and Buddhist Practices With Rabbi Miriam Margles and Shôken Michael Stone November 26-29, 2015 Galilee Centre, Arnprior, ON How does fear block our ability to have an open, resilient and responsive heart? Can we cultivate a loving orientation even in the face of challenge, fear or pain? What practices help us open our hearts? What to expect … Kabbalat Shabbat Friday evening; creative Saturday morning service; Aliya; d’var Torah; challah; guided seated and walking meditation; dharma talks; small group discussion; learning from Buddhist and Jewish sources; meetings with teachers; time for Q & A; 3 vegetarian meals daily; support, community, and more challah! Everyone Welcome!

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To advertise in the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin, contact: BARRY SILVERMAN 613-798-4696, ext. 256 |bsilverman@ottawajewishbulletin.com

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

The importance of volunteering on a political campaign

Advertorial

BY JONATHON BLOOMBERG AND MARK WALDMAN CANADIAN JEWISH PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE Alan Blostein President

More than trees 613.798.2411 ottawa@jnf.ca

Lynda Taller-Wakter Executive Director

JEWISH NATIONAL FUND JNF NEGEV DINNER IS OVER 90% SOLD The outpouring of community for the 2015 JNF Negev Dinner is outstanding this year. Thank you so much to Dinner Chairs John and Sunny Tavel and the Committee; and to friends and family of the Bakers whose lifelong ties are making it possible to fund important autism research in Israel. Thank you to so many corporate sponsors who believe in the work that JNF does and who support Israel via JNF. We are looking forward to an incredible evening with keynote Dennis Prager on October 15. Plant a JNF Tree on your next visit to Israel Shmita, the biblical year of rest for the soil, is now over and active tree planting has started with the new year. Why not consider visiting a JNF tree planting centre. Tree planting in Israel with your own hands is a memorable experience and fun to do with friends and family. JNF visitor centres are located at Nachshon Forest in the Judean Hills, 20 minutes from Jerusalem, and in the Lavie Forest near Tiberias at the Golani Junction. Plant a JNF Tree in Nachshon Forest Nestled in the hills overlooking the breathtaking biblical landscape of the Judean Lowlands, situated between Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, is the tree planting centre in Nachshon Forest. The tree planting centre is an integral part of the Nachshon Forest, which covers an area of 875 acres. A large part of this forest, Yaar Hamaginim (The Defenders Forest), is dedicated to fallen Israeli soldiers. The forest and centre borders the villages of Karmei Yosef, Kefar Bin Nun and Bakoa. Nachshon Forest offers many picturesque hiking and cycling trails. Part of the Tel AvivJerusalem cycling trail goes through this area. Plant a JNF Tree in Lavie Forest The Golani tree planting centre is located near the Golani junction in JNF’s Lavie Forest, on the crossroad between Tiberias and Nazareth, in the Lower Galilee. Lavie Forest expands over an area of some 3,000 dunam. Visitors plant one-year-old saplings, which are specially grown and tended to in JNF nurseries. There are rest stops and picnic areas throughout the woodlands, including special wheelchair accessible facilities for the disabled. The forest is a refreshing and uplifting stopover for visitors en route to and from the Galilee. Get started on tree planting Contact JNF Ottawa to get an official tree-planting voucher. The voucher indicates that you have paid in Canada and entitles you to plant trees. In Israel, tree planting centres open daily except Saturday and all Jewish Holidays. Contact our office for more details. JNF Book Inscriptions in Jerusalem Quinton and Olivia Braziller (Vancouver), on their respective Bar and Bat Mitzvah, by loving grandparents, Bill and Jane James. Norman Wolfish, on his special birthday, by Norman and Myrna Barwin. Agudath Israel Congregation Morning Minyan in honour of their dedication to the State of Israel. Avraham Iny, Michael Shulman and John Tavel for special birthdays, by Arthur Cogan and Linda Nadolny-Cogan and Family.

On a daily basis you can plant trees for all occasions. An attractive card is sent to the recipient. To order, call the JNF office (613.798.2411).

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e are now in the heart of the federal election campaign, and pundits across the country are describing this election as one of the most unpredictable in Canadian history. While that level of uncertainty may make supporters of any particular party slightly uneasy, it represents a great opportunity to get involved and really make a difference. While casting a vote on October 19 may be seen as the ultimate embodiment of true democracy, there is more that can and should be done. It is vital that our community – the Jewish and pro-Israel community – engage further in the democratic process and volunteer. Why? The answer comes down to two main reasons: demographics and geography. Demographically speaking, the Jewish population represents just over one per cent of the Canadian population. There are also only a handful of ridings where there is a strong community presence – only three per cent of the total number of 338 ridings! This means that, in order for the Jewish and pro-Israel community to make an impact beyond our numbers, we need to be strategic and get engaged in record numbers. This is where the Canadian Jewish Public Affairs Committee (CJPAC) comes in. Our mandate is to encourage community members to get involved in the democratic process by volunteering with the candidate or campaign of their choice. Volunteers are becoming harder and harder to come by, which means that just by showing up they can make a signiﬁcant difference – even a few hours goes a long way! When pundits talk about a campaign having a good ‘ground game,’ they are referring to the deployment of volunteers and their ability to drive their supporters to the polling booth. You can singlehandedly impact the outcome in a close race. It is important to volunteer not only for friends in local ridings, but also in ridings where our community does not have much of a presence. CJPAC can help by connecting community members with campaigns across the

country – there is so much ground to cover. We have been extremely fortunate that all three major political parties in Canada have shown support for both Israel and the Jewish community, but we cannot become complacent. We must remain active in the political arena, and volunteering is an excellent way to build key relationships. As a multi-partisan organization, CJPAC is here to ensure that our community becomes engaged. We are not involved in lobbying or advocacy, but rather in stressing the importance of getting involved in our country’s political process and building relationships. We want to make this process as easy and effective as possible for you, offering volunteer training sessions so that those walking into a campaign office for the first time feel comfortable and know what to expect. There are several different jobs volunteers can find themselves doing, so wherever your strengths lie, you can be sure there is a role for you. Volunteers will make phone calls on behalf of candidates to track support, canvass the neighbourhood and knock on doors, hand out literature on the street or at front doors, put up candidates’ signs, drive voters to their polling stations on election day and perform other tasks crucial to their campaign team’s success. On election day, volunteers help ‘get out the vote’ and work as scrutineers. During the 2011 election, CJPAC helped connect 900 volunteers with campaigns across the country in all major political parties. By becoming a volunteer and working with us to connect you with the candidate or campaign of your choice, you can help not only our democracy but also our community – ensuring that we have a large impact on October 19 and beyond. For more information on how to make your mark this election season, visit www.cjpac.ca/volunteer or contact us at volunteer@cjpac.ca or 1-866-929-9552. We look forward to seeing you all on the campaign trail in the weeks to come. Jonathan Bloomberg is chair and Mark Waldman is executive director of the Canadian Jewish Public Affairs Committee.

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Liberals would maintain current government support for Israel BY MICHAEL REGENSTREIF EDITOR

here is no daylight between the Liberals and the current Conservative government when it comes to support for Israel insisted Liberal Party candidate Andrew Leslie (Orléans) at a roundtable discussion with Jewish Federation of Ottawa representatives on September 3. Leslie, a lieutenant-general (retired) in the Canadian Armed Forces, was joined at the discussion organized by the Federation’s Communications and Community Relations Committee, by Mauril Bélanger, the incumbent MP running for re-election in Ottawa-Vanier.

Leslie was succinct and to the point when the candidates were asked whether and how Canadian government policy in regard to Israel might change should the Liberals form the government after the October 19 election (or if they formed a governing coalition with another party). “Trying to ﬁnd shades of gray would be unproductive,” said Leslie, when pressed to differentiate policies of a potential Liberal government from the currently governing Conservatives, when it comes to policies regarding Israel or the peace process with the Palestinians. Leslie said both he personally and the Liberal Party have beneﬁtted greatly

On the 20th anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin ‫ז״ל‬

The Rabin Legacy and the

Quest for Peace A talk with Yuval Rabin Yuval Rabin is the son of Israel’s illustrious soldier and statesman, the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

from the tutelage of retiring MP Irwin Cotler on issues surrounding Israel and the peace process. Although they were unwilling to disclose details of the arrangement, Leslie and Bélanger said Cotler has agreed to serve in an advisory position, should the Liberal Party form the next government. Leslie said the Liberal Party supports the nuclear deal negotiated between Iran and the P5+1 nations led by the United States, and that the current sanctions in place to cripple Iran’s ability to pursue nuclear weaponry should be lifted if Iran complies with the nuclear deal once it is implemented. The deal, he said, will have to be enforced through systems of veriﬁcation and not by trusting Iran. However, Leslie also said there is “irrefutable proof” that Iran has acted as a state sponsor of terrorism through its support for terrorist groups such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel had an undeniable right to defend itself from attacks by such groups. Asked about the role of ethnic communities and their agencies in the planning, funding and delivery of federal social services, Bélanger cited Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s announcement

that a Liberal government would add $60 billion of spending over 10 years for infrastructure, social housing, seniors’ housing and renewable energy. Bélanger said a Liberal government would work co-operatively with the provinces and municipalities on these programs, and ethnic communities and their agencies would be part of the process. Asked about whether the Federal Security Infrastructure Program to protect at-risk communities from hate-motivated crimes would be expanded under a Liberal government, both candidates said they were unfamiliar with the program. Bélanger said the Conservative government has not informed Parliament about the program, but pledged to study the program and determine whether it would be possible to expand it. Bélanger also said a Liberal government would implement all 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that studied the effects of Aboriginal residential schools and said a Liberal government would do whatever it could diplomatically to inﬂuence countries that have been slow to provide restitution to Holocaust survivors.

Yuval is an Israeli businessman, who, outside his professional life, has been active in continuing the quest for peace. He is chairman and co-founder of the Israel Peace Initiative and was chairman of Dor Shalom, a social movement that emerged in the aftermath of his father’s assassination.

October 15, 2015 • 7:30 pm Soloway Jewish Community Centre 21 Nadolny Sachs Private Admission free, donations welcome MICHAEL REGENSTREIF

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(From left) Federation representatives Jonathan Calof, Mike Shahin and Jonathan Freedman; Liberal Party candidates Andrew Leslie and Mauril Belanger; and Federation representatives Bram Bregman and Harold Feder pose following their roundtable discussion, September 3.

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September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

Green Party candidates attend meeting to listen to community BY LOUISE RACHLIS

hen four Ottawa-area Green Party candidates met with representatives of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa for a roundtable discussion on September 1, they said it was an opportunity to meet members of the Jewish community and learn about the community’s priorities. “What is it you’re looking for from a federal party?” asked candidate Nira Dookeran (Ottawa Vanier). “It’s the communities that know what the priorities are and the communities should be listened to.” Dookeran was joined by fellow Green Party candidates Jean-Luc Cooke (Nepean), Deborah Coyne (Carleton) and Raphaël Morin (Orléans). Coyne – a former Liberal who ran against Justin Trudeau for the party leadership and is now a senior policy adviser to Green Party leader Elizabeth May – said she saw the roundtable discussion as an opportunity to “inform ourselves” and to listen. She wants to hear from the Jewish community, she

said, and to learn from it. “We’re a thoughtful party.” A lawyer, university professor, constitutional activist and public servant, Coyne said she joined the Green Party recently because it’s a grassroots party without “megaphone moralizing.” The ﬁrst question posed to the candidates by Mike Shahin, chair of the Federation’s Communications and Community Relations Committee, which organized the roundtable discussions, concerned the “unconditional support” for Israel offered by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government over the past nine years. Noting the Green Party stands “solidly behind the security of Israel, Coyne said “Harper has taken too much of a onesided approach. “We want Canada to be more evenhanded, to dial down the rhetoric,” noting “domestically and internationally, the Green Party stands for diplomacy.” “Israel is an ally of Canada, and we’re not looking to change that,” added Cooke, the small business critic in the Green Party’s shadow cabinet. “Allies

MICHAEL REGENSTREIF

(From left) Federation representatives Mike Shahin and Jonathan Freedman; Green Party candidates Jean-Luc Cooke, Nira Dookeran, Raphaël Morin and Deborah Coyne; and Federation representative Bram Bregman pose following their roundtable discussion, September 1.

make mistakes,” he said, and criticism can be “constructive and helpful” in a relationship that is “more nuanced and mature.” A Green Party government, Cooke said, “will assist an ally to defend its borders. We will stand in solidarity with our allies.” “Violence is a perpetual cycle, and we don’t want any more bloodshed,” added Morin. Asked about the role of ethnic communities and their agencies in the planning, funding and delivery of federal social services, Cooke said the Green

Our choices define us.

Choosing to say ”yes” to community involvement paved the way for Julia Koschitzky to become an extraordinary activist, philanthropist, and respected leader of Canadian and world Jewry. Recently nominated to the Order of Canada, Julia has spent over 35 years at the forefront of landmark events and initiatives in the Jewish world. She will share how this choice set her on a lifelong path of communal commitment that she considers a privilege and a joy. Date: Thursday, October 8, 2015 Place: Agudath Israel Congregation, 1400 Coldrey Ave. Time: 6:00 pm cocktails, 6:45 pm dinner Couvert: $54, PLUS a suggested minimum gift of $150 to the 2016 Annual Campaign. For first time donors under the age of 40, the suggested minimum gift is $36. Chair: Shari Silber More info: dluu@jewishottawa.com or 613-798-4696 ext. 305

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Party recently announced a housing strategy, adding “communities that are the most troubled are getting the worst results,” so financing shouldn’t be tied totally to results, but to capabilities. “The Green Party supports getting the federal government back in there to help the country,” added Coyne. “Let’s figure out how to find the revenues.” Regarding the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Coyne said a first step “will be to abolish the Indian Act, a structure that’s not working.”

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

Yitzhak Rabin’s son to speak on father’s legacy and quest for peace BY GABRIELLA GOLIGER CANADIAN FRIENDS OF PEACE NOW

wenty years ago, on Cheshvan 12 (November 4 on the secular calendar), Yitzhak Rabin, the prime minister of Israel, was gunned down during a peace rally in the Tel Aviv square that now bears his name. The assassination brought an illustrious life to a tragic end. Rabin was one of Israel’s military heroes and, as a statesman, won a Nobel Prize for his peace-seeking efforts. To mark this important anniversary, Yuval Rabin, son of the late prime minister, will speak at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre on Thursday, October 15 at 7:30 pm. The talk, titled “Rabin Legacy and the Quest for Peace,” is organized by Canadian Friends of Peace Now in conjunction with American Friends of Yitzhak Rabin. Admission is free of charge. Yuval Rabin will speak about his father’s achievements, but also about his own views of where Israel is headed. A focus will be obstacles to and opportunities for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conﬂict. Yuval Rabin is an Israeli businessman with many years of experience in the

Peace activist Yuval Rabin, son of assassinated Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, will speak in Ottawa, October 15.

high-tech ﬁeld. He is also a keen observer of Israeli politics and has actively promoted the pursuit of peace with the Palestinians as an essential component of his father’s legacy.

Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated at a peace rally in Tel Aviv by a Jewish extremist on November 4, 1995.

He is chair and co-founder of the Israeli Peace Initiative, a comprehensive proposal put forward by a group of prominent Israelis in 2011 in the hope of creating momentum in the stalled peace process. Among the Initiative’s signatories are former Shin Bet chiefs Yaakov Peri and Ami Ayalon, former Mossad chief Danny Yatom, and former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Amnon Lipkin Shahak.

Yuval Rabin was chairman of Dor Shalom, a grassroots social movement that emerged in the aftermath of his father’s assassination. He was also a board member of American Friends of Yitzhak Rabin, which supports programs that reﬂect the legacy of the late prime minister, including the core values of peace and democracy. It is associated with the Rabin Center in Tel Aviv, a museum and educational institute.

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The next issue of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin will be published October 12, 2015

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

WINNER THREE YEARS IN A ROW!

MATT CARDY/GETTY IMAGES

Migrants walk along railway tracks near the Hungarian village of Roszke, Sept. 7, 2015.

What I saw along the migrants’ road to Budapest BY JULIA KALDORI

BUDAPEST (JTA) – As our car rolled slowly toward Budapest, we saw a huge group heading in the opposite direction on the highway just outside the city: Hundreds of people quietly walking in the breakdown lane, marching toward freedom and peace. I couldn’t tell if the other drivers were lifting their heads or not, but I couldn’t look away, paralyzed by a scene that reminded me of the stories my grandfather told me about his march from Budapest to the concentration camp at Mauthausen. Barbed wire fences are again being built in Europe to stop the flow of refugees. Thousands of men, women and children drowned at sea on their way to Europe across the Mediterranean. In Budapest, refugees were led to trains they were promised would bring them to the West, but instead were taken to a so-called registration camp. In the Czech Republic, refugees had identification numbers written on their hands until the process was stopped amid a public outcry, the procedure too reminiscent of the tattooed numbers on concentration camp prisoners. And European political leaders, foremost among them Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, warn of the refugees overflowing Europe with their “different” cultures and religions. These scenes from Europe in 2015 sound like echoes of the Holocaust. But Europe’s biggest humanitarian crisis since the Second World War makes many Europeans blind in their historical eye, which in turn provokes concern among European Jewish leaders. At a recent demonstration in Budapest against the inhumane handling of this crisis by the Hungarian government, anti-Semitic insults were shouted by right wing counter-demonstrators.

Recent events pose challenges to the Jewish communities of Europe, so it is perhaps not surprising that many Jewish leaders and individuals are actively involved in providing aid to the refugees. Personally, when I see how people are fished out of trains on the basis of their racial profile, or locked up in camps behind barbed wire, or used as scapegoats to maintain political power, I’m grateful for my own life, for my healthy child, warm home, and the love of family and friends. But I also can’t sit at home and look away. As a journalist, I try to raise as much awareness as I can. And, as a private person, I try to extend a hand, helping the refugees find a peaceful moment in the railway stations or on the highway from Budapest and Vienna. Since last month, when I joined the volunteers – many of them Jewish – helping refugees in Budapest, I’ve come to realize how many of them need someone to listen to them as much as they need the medicine, blankets and kosher (hence, also halal) food that we distribute among them. When you look into their eyes, their plight stops being a demographic issue. I know they come from countries where anti-Semitism and terrorism are rampant. But the people determined to kill Jews don’t need this stream of refugees to infiltrate Europe. They were doing just fine before it started. The refugees are mostly fleeing ISIS barbarism – our common enemy. If we Jews help them, our actions could build bridges to a more secure future. Maybe I’m being naive, but I need to be, if I am to help make a bright future for my six-year-old son. Julia Kaldori is the editor of Wina, a monthly magazine serving the Jewish community in Vienna. She was born in Hungary.

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Information Session October 20 7pm

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

Seven Israeli expat writers to watch in the new year BY BETH KISSILEFF

(JTA) – Israelis get around the globe, as anyone who has travelled to Thailand, Goa or Patagonia knows. Writers, too, are known for living outside the lands of their birth – Czech-born Milan Kundera lives in Paris and writes in French; Jhumpa Lahiri moved to Rome in 2012 and wrote her ﬁrst book in Italian earlier this year and, last year, Arab-Israeli writer Sayed Kashua decamped to Champaign, Illinois, and continues to write in his adopted tongue, Hebrew. So, perhaps it comes as no surprise that there’s no shortage of Israeli writers who have made their homes in various corners of the world. Some have adopted the language of their resident country and choose to write in it; others continue to write in Hebrew. The proliferation of Israeli writers living abroad hasn’t been without controversy. In January, Israel’s top literary award, the Sapir Prize, was awarded to Reuven Namdar, an Israeli who resides in New York. He was the ﬁrst writer living outside Israel to receive it, and, in the aftermath of his victory, Israel passed a new law restricting the prize to writers living in Israel full time. Though the number of Hebrew authors living abroad and writing prize-worthy books may be small, their work begs the question of whether or not

SHARON BAKHAR HIRSCH

COURTESY OF OLA GROISMAN

NOAM ROSENTHAL

Maya Arad

Ola Groisman

Admiel Kosman

Israeli culture can have global reach. Here are some snapshots of seven Israeli writers around the world worth following. Maya Arad has been the writer-in-residence at Stanford University’s Taube Center for Jewish Studies since 2009 and is best known for her 2003 novel in verse Another Place, A Foreign City, which was translated into English. Most of her books are about Israelis who live abroad; in fact, she said readers tell her they often give her books to friends readying themselves

to go abroad. Her most recent book, Suspected Dementia, is about language and memories. Ola Groisman immigrated to Israel from Russia at age seven. For the past 12 years, however, she has been living in Cambridge, England, and writing in Hebrew. Her ﬁrst novel, Suitcase on Snow, about a young Israeli woman who travels back to Russia, was well received in Israel. Her second novel, The Misplaced – about Russian immigrants’ difﬁculties assimilating to Israeli culture in the 1990s –

hasn’t fared as well, perhaps because the author’s message is one Israelis don’t want to hear. Admiel Kosman, both a poet and professor of Jewish studies, grew up in an Orthodox family and is the academic director at the Abraham Geiger College in Potsdam, Germany – the ﬁrst school to train Reform rabbis in Germany since the Holocaust. His poem, “I Try To Wake You In the Dark,” about his love and longing for Jerusalem, has been used by both See Writers on page 15

Developing Future Leaders Conference

Partners in Emerging Leadership: Campus and Community

October 7, 2015 Jewish communities around the world are asking how best to engage the next generation of leaders. Researchers seek to understand how and why young people are engaged, what professional training is most impactful, what community institutions need, and how universities and communities can best collaborate. As a university/community partnership, the Developing Future Leaders program at the Zelikovitz Centre will bring together scholars and leaders in the Jewish community and the community at large to learn from each other and to discuss the challenges, opportunities, strategies, and best practices with respect to attracting and training the emerging generation of leaders. Please join the Max and Tessie Zelikovitz Centre at Fenn Lounge, Carleton University, on Wednesday, October 7th. 8:30 am: Coffee and registration 9:00 am-12:30 pm: Conference sessions and discussion 12:30-2:00 pm: Lunch Luncheon keynote address by Barbara Crook, Director, Danbe Foundation The Zelikovitz Centre is delighted to make this conference free of charge to attendees; however, registration is requested in order to ensure the reservation of your kosher lunch. Registrants will also have access to free parking. In order to hold your place, or for more information, please e-mail jewishstudies@carleton.ca or call and leave a message at the Zelikovitz Centre at 613-520-2600, extension 1320.

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

Writers: Some Israeli expats still write in Hebrew Continued from page 14

right wing Jewish groups and left wing Palestinian ones to express their feelings about the city. Now living his day-to-day life in German, he has said that Hebrew now holds a strength it did not have for him when he lived in Israel. His book, Approaching You in English: Selected Poems of Admiel Kosman was released in 2011. Reuven Namdar says one of his greatest joys is to sit in a coffee shop in New York, hearing the buzz of English all around him, while writing in Hebrew on his laptop. After his army service, Namdar, 52, moved to the United States where he discovered Jewish-American writers like Saul Bellow, Philip Roth and Cynthia Ozick. He says his most recent novel – the Sapir Prize-winning The Ruined House, about a professor who hallucinates about Jerusalem’s Holy Temple – is a homage to them. The novel is currently being translated into English. Shelly Oria moved from Tel Aviv to New York to get a master’s degree in ﬁne arts at Sarah Lawrence College. Though she initially did her assignments in Hebrew and then translated them, at a certain point she forced herself to compose in English. Her lauded collection of postmodern stories, New York 1, Tel Aviv 0, which range in topic from an

T. KIRA MADDEN

KEVIN NIXON/SFX MAGAZINE/TEAMROCK

SEAN BRERERTON

Shelly Oria

Lavie Tidhar

Ayelet Tsabari

unstable, co-habiting threesome to an artist’s short reunion with the daughter he abandoned, feature characters who are trying to negotiate both cultures, American and Israeli. The book, written in English and published last year, is currently being translated to Hebrew. Lavie Tidhar has what few other authors have: the chutzpah to write ﬁction about Osama bin Laden or create an alternate history of Auschwitz, which the proliﬁc writer has done in Osama: A Novel and A Man Lies Dreaming. Raised

on a kibbutz, but now a resident of London, Tidhar also edited the recently published anthologies Jews Vs. Zombies and Jews Vs. Aliens. Tidhar writes at the intersection of speculative ﬁction, noir, thriller and fantasy. His newest novel, Central Station, about Tel Aviv’s bus station, was written in English, like the majority of his work, will be published next March. Ayelet Tsabari recently received a great deal of attention with her recent win of the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish

Literature for her story collection The Best Place on Earth: Stories. The book, written in English, has stories from the perspectives of a multitude of characters – a Yemenite grandmother, a Filipina caretaker, a British man of Indian descent, a young woman in the Israeli army. Though she now lives in Toronto, Tsabari often writes about Israel and says that “longing for a place, the sense of being away, is a very Jewish theme.” Tsabari is currently at work on a novel and a memoir.

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

Books and Bagels series at Temple Israel this fall BY ANNE ALPER FOR TEMPLE ISRAEL

hree sessions in Temple Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s popular Books and Bagels series will be held this fall. Each session takes place on Sunday morning and begins with a bagel breakfast at 9:30 am that is followed by a book review and discussion. All sessions are held at Temple Israel, 1301 Prince of Wales Drive, and pre-registration is not required. There is no charge, but a voluntary donation to cover the cost of breakfast is appreciated. October 18 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Angus Smith will review The Mathematicianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer. This 2014 National Jewish Book Award winner celebrates the life of a famous, ďŹ ctional mathematician, Rachela Karnokovitch, a Polish immigrant to Madison, Wisconsin, and professor who is rumoured to have solved the Navier-Stokes problem in mathematics and taken the solution to her grave. Her son Sasha must deal with the ďŹ&#x201A;ock of friends and colleagues who descend upon the shiva, desperate to lay their hands on her masterpiece. November 8 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Hal Burnham will review The Lost Language of Cranes by David Leavitt. Philip Benjamin, a 20-something

American who works in publishing, decides to come out to his parents. The impact is greatest on his father Owen, who, although married for years to Rose, is secretly gay. December 6 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Shawna Dolansky will review The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. Only two women and ďŹ ve children survived the siege of Masada. Based on this tragic

and iconic event, Hoffman weaves a spellbinding tale of four extraordinary, bold, resourceful and sensuous women, each of whom comes to Masada by a different path. The lives of these four complex and ďŹ ercely independent women intersect in the desperate days of the siege.

All are dove keepers and all are keeping secrets about who they are, where they come from, who fathered them and whom they love. For more information, contact Shayla Mindell at shaylamindell@rogers.com or 613-594-4556.

$ 1,*+7 7+$7

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September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

Preschool known for individual attention and warm environment BY LOUISE RACHLIS FOR WESTBORO JEWISH MONTESSORI PRESCHOOL

Tour hosted by David Nozick

Work: 613-725-9000 (ext. 11) Ancillary: 613-228-9394

year ago, on Noa Tili Wilner’s ﬁrst day at Westboro Jewish Montessori Preschool, both she and her mother, Kate Bigney Wilner, were apprehensive. The family was new to Ottawa, and the preschool was new for them as well. “Morah Erin Gailor said to Noa Tili, ‘I’m nervous too. When you’re nervous, you come to me, and when I’m nervous, I’ll come to you,’” said Kate. “She didn’t say ‘don’t be nervous.’ Right then, I knew she was in the right place.” Noa Tili will be four in December, and her mother likes “the individual attention that every child gets” at the Chabadafﬁliated preschool. “She feels at home there. As a parent, I want her to be in a warm environment that respects her as an individual. They are very respectful of the kids and they can develop at their own pace.” The Wilners plan to send their other daughter, eight-month-old Miriam, to the preschool as soon as she’s old enough. “When we lived in Toronto, Noa went to a Chabad day care as well, so we had experience with Chabad,” said Alex Wilner, her father. “When we decided to move to Ottawa, we did a little research and were delighted to learn that Ottawa had a Jewish Montessori. We were thrilled with that because we liked the Montessori philosophy and also the Jewish education, the best of both worlds,” said Alex, a professor at Carleton University’s Norman Patterson School of International Affairs. Noa Tili is fond of music and loves the preschool’s music programs. She also

www.nozick.ca

India, the largest democracy in the world and a truly secular state is home to all of the world’s greatest religions. She has been a sanctuary for all fleeing religious persecution, among them are the Jewish people who have migrated and settled in various parts of India to freely practise their religion, cherish their traditions and pursue their lifestyle according to their beliefs, thus enriching the already rich religious heritage of India. This tour focuses on the cultural legacy of India’s diverse Jewish communities. Our aim is to trace the history of Jewish migration, visiting the most significant Jewish and UNESCO world heritage sites. We will explore the monuments, visit the synagogues and interact with prominent members of the Jewish community to gain insight into Jewish history.

Tour Length: 16 days February 6 - 21, 2016 Tour Price: $4995 * (per person sharing)

$1345 (single supplement)

Tour Price Includes: • Hotel accommodation • 31 meals, Kosher meals available upon request • All sightseeing transfers • Entrance fees to museums and sites • Services of local English-speaking guides • And much more is included – call or e-mail for more info *Tour price does not include: international airfares, Visa fees/Insurance, tips and gratuities

Noa Tili Wilner feels at home at the Westboro Jewish Montessori Preschool, says her mother.

enjoys the outings to museums, the National Art Centre, ski and other trips. Director Devora Caytak describes the Westboro Jewish Montessori Preschool as “a boutique; a gentle introduction to school before they go on to ‘big school.’ The children take it all and carry on with a beautiful, solid foundation.” Westboro Jewish Montessori Preschool is licensed for just over 20 children and is full for this year, but there is a waiting list in case a cancellation arises. For more information, call Devora Caytak 613-729-7712 or visit www.jewishyouthlibrary.com.

DID YOU KNOW? Since 2004, the Lodge spent considerable time and effort to plan the development of unfinished space, which was contingent on the acquisition of beds and the related licences. In 2006, the Lodge answered a Request for Proposal from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) to add 21 long-term care beds. Although the Lodge was given every assurance the beds would be awarded to them, it turned out to be far more complicated and protracted than anyone could have imagined, and Ministry approval did not come until 2011.

Breaking news updated at www.ottawajewishbulletin.com

Strength & Compassion

in Ottawa West-Nepean • Ensuring everybody has quick access to quality health care • Restoring door-to-door mail delivery • Returning the retirement age to 65 so nobody has to retire into poverty • Restoring funding to the CBC

! h a v o T a n a h S Marlene

Rivier OTTAWA WEST-NEPEAN Authorized by the CFO for the Marlene Rivier campaign

marlene.rivier@ndp.ca 1315 Richmond Rd (613) 518-7981 facebook.com/MarleneRivierNDP www.marlenerivier.ndp.ca @MarleneRivier

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

In support of the Bess and Moe Greenberg Family Hillel Lodge In the Joseph and Inez Zelikovitz Long Term Care Centre

613-728-3990 Card Donations Card donations go a long way to improving the quality of life for our residents. Thank you for considering their needs and contributing to their well-being. On behalf of the residents and their families, we extend sincere appreciation to the following individuals and families who made card donations to the Hillel Lodge Long-Term Care Foundation between August 12 and September 2, 2015 inclusive.

HONOUR FUNDS Unlike a bequest or gift of life insurance, which are realized some time in the future, a named Honour Fund (i.e., endowment fund) is established during your lifetime. By making a contribution of $1,000 or more, you can create a permanent remembrance for a loved one, honour a family member, declare what the Lodge has meant to you and/or support a cause that you believe in. A Hillel Lodge Honour Fund is a permanent pool of capital that earns interest or income each year. This income then supports the priorities designated by you, the donor.

Ruth and Irving Aaron Family Fund In Memory of: Ida Glimcher by Ruth and Irving Aaron Sam Ages by Ruth and Irving Aaron Phyllis Rackow by Ruth and Irving Aaron Milton Shaffer by Ruth and Irving Aaron Sylvia Kaiman by Ruth and Irving Aaron Jenny Paroli by Ruth and Irving Aaron Bill and Leona Adler Memorial Fund In Memory of: Sylvia Kaiman by Elaine, Dave, Jordan and Benjamin In Honour of: Stephen and Debra Schneiderman Mazel Tov on the birth of your granddaughter by Elayne Adler and family, Marilyn Adler and Neil and Daniel Blacher Samuel and Jean Akerman Memorial Fund In Honour of: Jonathan Fisher and Linda Slotin Mazel Tov on your recent marriage by Sheila and Larry Hartman Simon Morin Mazel Tov on your 75th Birthday by Sheila and Larry Hartman Fred and Esther Ballon Family Fund In Memory of: Nancy Bercovitch by Fred Ballon Stella and Norman Beck Family Fund In Honour of: Rabbi Levy Teitlebaum In appreciation and Shana Tova Y’mitukah by Stella Beck Jenny and Murray Citron Endowment Fund In Memory of: Phyllis Rackow by Murray Citron

Sid and Barbara Cohen Family Fund In Honour of: Sidney Cohen Happy Birthday Sid! By Sheila Kussner Nell Gluck Memorial Fund In Memory of: Elaine Singer by Manny and Cheryle Gluck Milton Shaffer by Manny and Cheryle Gluck Norman Lesh by Manny and Cheryle Gluck Beverley Clarke by Manny and Cheryle Gluck In Honour of: Stephen and Debra Schneiderman Mazel Tov on the birth of your granddaughter and welcome to the best club in the world by Maureen and Henry Molot. Issie Scarowsky Todah raba for providing us with a wonderful memory of summer visits by Maureen and Henry Molot R’Fuah Shlema: Miriam Litman by Manny and Cheryle Gluck Isadore and Evelyn Hoffman Family Fund In Honour of: Nathan and Brenda Levine by Issie and Evelyn Hoffman Morris and Lillian Kimmel Family Fund In Memory of: Sylvia Kaiman by Cheryl Leyton and Manuel Glimcher In Honour of: Stephen and Debra Schneiderman by the Kimmel, Kaiman and Levine families Russell and Joan Kronick Family Fund In Memory of: Phyllis Rackow by Joan and Russell Kronick Sam Ages by Joan and Russell Kronick Milton Shaffer by Joan and Russell Kronick Irma and Harold Sachs Family Fund In Honour of: Dr. Norman Wolfish Mazel Tov on this very special Birthday by Irma Sachs Stephen and Debra Schneiderman Family Fund In Honour of: Stephen and Debra Schneiderman Mazel Tov on the birth of your granddaughter Ruby by Joany and Andy Katz & family, Joanna and Ira Abrams & family, Carol Gradus, Bunny Cogan, Ingrid Levitz, Estelle and Sol Gunner and Marty and Ricki Saslove Harold and Lillian Shoihet Memorial Fund Rabbi and Mrs. Burach Clinton Mazel Tov on the marriage of Shnuel and Freidy by David and Jessica Shoihet R’fuah Shlema: John and Gladys Greenberg by David and Jessica Shoihet Skulsky Family Fund In Honour of: Dr. Norman Wolfish Mazel Tov on both your

celebrations by Ray and Ernie Goldstein Ralph and Anne Sternberg Memorial Fund In Honour of: Mira Sucharov In appreciation of seven years of eloquent, challenging and provocative columns by Laya and Ted Jacobsen Judith Slipacoff Mazel Tov on your milestone Birthday by Laya and Ted Jacobsen Judith and Harvey Slipacoff Mazel Tov on your wedding Anniversary by Laya and Ted Jacobsen Natalie and Thomas Gussman Mazel Tov on your 44th wedding Anniversary by Laya and Ted Jacobsen In Memory of: Nancy Bercovitch by Laya and Ted Jacobsen In Observance of the Yahrzeit of: William (Bill) Sternberg, beloved son, brother, husband and father by Laya and Ted Jacobsen Sarah and Arnie Swedler Family Fund In Memory of: Sam Ages by Arnie Swedler and Rhoda Zaitlin Archie and Lillian Taller Memorial Fund In Memory of: Sylvia Kaiman Karen and Murray Osterer Anna and Samuel Wex Family Fund In Honour of: Dr. Norman Wolfish Congratulations and best wishes on your special Birthday by Anna and Sam Wex **************** Feeding Program In Honour of: Bonnie Bowering by Roz and Steve Fremeth Stephen and Debra Schneiderman Mazel Tov on the birth of your beautiful granddaughter by Joy and Seymour Mender Rosalie Schwartz Mazel Tov on your upcoming retirement by Carol and Laurie Pascoe Shelley Rothman Mazel Tov on the birth of your granddaughter Sydney by Marilyn and David Akman Recreation Program In Memory of: Sidney Lipsey by Eva Esrock and family Norm Lesh by Joy Bodnoff In Honour of: Debbie and Howard Krebs Mazel Tov and best wishes on the birth of your granddaughter by Valerie and Gaby Terkel IN MEMORY OF: Yitzhak Nayvelt by Eva and Lara Esrock and Jonathan and Inna Sherman Sylvia Kaiman by Marty and Ricki Saslove, Stephen and Brenda Saslove and Norean Harris and family Arthur Klein by Stephen and Brenda Saslove Sam Ages by Stephen and Brenda Saslove and Sheila Bahar and family

Milton Shaffer by Randi and Ian Sherman, Ann and Bob Lurie, Dan and Jocelyn Palayew and Deborah Magidson Anna Froimovitch by Merle Moses and Gail and Doug Krantzberg Anne Mendelsohn by Lesley and Jack Cramer, Ann and Terry Smutylo and Heather and Mark Evenchick David Ben Reuven by Lesley and Jack Cramer and Stephen and Brenda Saslove Elaine Segal by Angie and Melvyn Fields & family Elaine Singer by Violet and Ben Segal Norm Lesh by Stephen and Brenda Saslove Phyllis Rackow by Cynthia Cowan IN HONOUR OF: Ralph and Lynda Levenstein by Bill and Laurie Chochinov Mark and Carol Tolchinsky Mazel Tov on the birth of your granddaughter by Bill and Laurie Chochinov Carole and Norman Zagerman Mazel Tov on the marriage of your daughter by Bill and Jane James Adam and Diana Mayerson Mazel Tov on the birth of your daughter Aliya Rachel by Irwin and Annie Hinberg Bruce and Bonnie Engel Mazel Tov on the recent marriage of your son Matt to Carli by Stephen and Brenda Saslove Stephen and Debra Schneiderman Mazel Tov on the birth of your first granddaughter Ruby by Stephen and Brenda Saslove and Heather and Mark Evenchick Joel and Toby Yan Mazel Tov on the marriage of your daughter Meira by Carolyn Weiss Stan and Fran Ages wishing you both a very happy and healthy New Year by Carolyn Weiss Norman Wolfish Mazel Tov on your haftorah shul and special Birthday by Bill and Jane James Dr. and Mrs. Steve Feder Mazel Tov on your son’s upcoming marriage by Rhoda and Mike Aronson Norma and Phil Lazear Happy 58th Anniversary by Sunny and Sheldon Shaffer R`FUAH SHLEMA Shirley Stream-Hartman by Stephen and Brenda Saslove

Save the Date

Celebratory event, Sunday, October 18

THE LODGE EXPRESSES ITS SINCERE APPRECIATION FOR YOUR KIND SUPPORT AND APOLOGIZES FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS. DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, THE WORDING APPEARING IN THE BULLETIN IS NOT NECESSARILY THE WORDING WHICH APPEARED ON THE CARD.

“GIVING IS RECEIVING” - ATTRACTIVE CARDS AVAILABLE FOR ALL OCCASIONS Here’s a great opportunity to recognize an event or convey the appropriate sentiment to someone important to you and at the same time support the Lodge. Call orders may be given to Cathie at 728-3900, Ext 111, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. You may also go to: www.hillel-ltc.com and click on the “Donate Now” button to make your donations. Cards may be paid for by Visa or Mastercard. Contributions are tax deductible.

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

High Holiday Feature

Why Shemini Atzeret is the pinnacle of the High Holidays season BY SARAH CHANDLER

(JTA) – You might not know it, but Shemini Atzeret – October 5 this year – is the pinnacle of the High Holidays season. Not Rosh Hashanah, when our fates for the year are traditionally written, nor Yom Kippur, when they are sealed. Shemini Atzeret, the oft-forgotten coda that comes at the end of Sukkot, trumps them all. That’s not just my opinion. The rabbis and ancient Israelites knew it, too. According to the agrarian roots of the Jewish calendar, the date of Shemini Atzeret is timed to the start of the rainy season in Israel. In the holiday’s Musaf service, we recite Tefillat Geshem, the prayer for rain, in which we ask God not only for rain but for the right amount of rain. “Livracha velo liklala (for a blessing and not a curse)”; rain that will sustain a people with fertile crops, not drown them in torrential floods. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur merely functioned as preparation for this precarious time. In the Yom Kippur Avodah service, the following prayer of the high priest is recited: “When the world is in need of rain, do not permit the prayers of the travellers with regard to rain to gain entrance before You.” The prayers and sacrifices of the High

Holidays were meant to prove our worth so that the harvest season continued smoothly and we merited rain once it was time to plant again. In ancient times, Sukkot opened with a water-drawing ritual which, by pouring out the remains of last year’s water, symbolized faith that the coming year’s rains would fall just in time. Today, we still beat willow branches on the last day of Sukkot, Hoshana Rabba, pleading for salvation in the form of rain. Then, having completed a full week of waving the four species on Sukkot – each of which requires a signiﬁcant amount of water to produce – we set it down and wait for the ultimate judgment. It makes sense that Diaspora Jews tend not to focus on the agricultural roots of the High Holidays. As citizens of an industrialized society, praying for rain tends not to be at the top of our to-do lists. Most of us simply take it for granted that substantial food will be shipped in from wherever it can grow. Theologically, we’ve moved away from this as well. Most contemporary religious ideologies no longer equate following God’s laws with receiving enough rain for our crops to survive. The Reform movement has even removed from its prayer books the second paragraph of the

Shema, which links observance of the commandments to the provision of rain, to make the bold statement that as modern Jews, we do not believe we can influence God to change the weather. And yet, scientific research increasingly points to the fact that human actions can have an effect on the climate – and, in turn, the weather. Moreover, no matter how technologically advanced our society becomes, life as we know it will continue to depend on sufficient rainfall. And so we should continue to say Tefillat Geshem – not because we believe that fasting and chest pounding will bring rain, but because it reminds us of the delicate balance necessary for life to thrive on this planet. Our petitions to God are more than requests to act on our behalf. A responsible, modern religious ethos serves two seemly contradictory functions: On the one hand, our request that God reward our weeks of repentance with the

blessing of rain afﬁrms our lack of dominion; on the other, calling out to God implores us to act by reminding us of our responsibilities. In modern times, we need both scientists and activists telling us what to do, as well as the faith that there are systems beyond our control. It is both recognition and a release of our power. During the High Holidays season, a renewed recognition of ancient Judaism’s relationship to the earth has great potential to bring us closer to the rhythms of the seasons, which, in turn, can lead to a more sustainable future for the planet. The countdown to Shemini Atzeret can be an awakening for us to recognize the sanctity of our planet’s resources. Through honouring this often overlooked day, by calling out loudly that rain should fall, we ask that our community be aligned with the natural cycles of the earth – for blessing and not for curse.

Would you like to advertise in the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin? Contact Barry Silverman | 613 798-4696, ext. 256 | bsilverman@ottawajewishbulletin.com

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

Jewish War Veterans announce scholarship recipients

Sonia Frenkel

Sarina Aarenau

The Ottawa Post of the Jewish War Veterans of Canada has announced that Sonia Frenkel and Sarina Aarenau are the recipients of the Postâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual student scholarships for the current school year. Sonia, the daughter of Yuri and Inna Frenkel, a graduate of the Ottawa Jewish Community School, is now studying business management and commerce at Ryerson University in Toronto. Sarina, the daughter of Brian and Debbie Aarenau, a graduate of Machon Sarah High School, is now studying neuroscience at Carleton University.

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

Exciting Israeli innovations in 3D printing

ired of your wardrobe? Want a new look? The airline lost your luggage and you have nothing to wear for that big meeting? Don’t panic. Just find the nearest 3D printer and whip up a new ensemble, complete with shoes. That’s how Danit Peleg sees the future of fashion and technology. The 27-year-old native of Holon used 3D printers to create her entire graduation project for her fashion degree at Tel Aviv’s Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. The five outfits in the collection, including shoes, were made from a flexible polyurethane filament called FilaFlex and printed on Witbox home 3D printers. “I’ve spent the past year searching for the best solution,” she says in a YouTube video (http://tinyurl.com/pv4vj5u). “Just imagine the potential. If you’re cold, print your own jacket. Travelling with no luggage? Just print your clothes in the hotel room. “Will we soon be able to design, share and print our own clothes from home?” Peleg (www.danitpeleg.com) is not the first fashion designer to work with 3D printing. The Dutch designer Iris van Herpen has made it her signature, and both Lady Gaga and Björk have showcased her work. But Peleg’s collection of lacy, see-through outfits is the first to be designed specifically to be produced on smaller 3D printers that can be used at home. The cost of printing remains the biggest barrier to widespread home use. The collection took more than 2,000 hours to print – about 400 hours per outfit. The materials for the bright red “Liberté” jacket, with a pattern of triangles inspired by Eugène Delacroix’s painting, “Liberty Leading the People,” cost only about $100. But it took 220 hours to print, which Peleg says would

BARBARA CROOK

MY ISRAEL

cost about $900 for someone having to rent a printer. And that doesn’t include design and assembly (the clothes are printed section by section and then assembled). However, that will change very quickly as the technology progresses and the cost of 3D printers drops. I ﬁrst heard about Peleg’s work through No Camels (www.nocamels.com), which showcases Israeli inventions and technological advances. The fashion element is fun and ﬂashy, but the innovation angle is even more exciting. And the Ottawa Jewish community is helping to make other breakthroughs in 3D printing possible in our partnership region of the Upper Galilee. The experts who helped Peleg with the technological side of her project were the 3D printing lab TechFactoryPlus and the XLN community in Tel Aviv. XLN (Cross Lab Networks) is an Israeli venture comprising centres throughout the country, where students of all ages can learn about digital fabrication technology and where entrepreneurs can become early adopters of 3D fabrication technology. Through Partnership 2Gether (P2G), the Jewish communities of Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa and the Atlantic region have invested more than $100,000 to help the Reut Institute and Tel Hai College open an XLN Space at the Har Vagai High School

on Kibbutz Dafna, near Kiryat Shmona. The XLN Space, which opened last November, works with the new Physics and Technology Research Station to enable high school and college students to be involved in advanced scientiﬁc activities. Students, teachers and entrepreneurs often work together. For example, six students from Eastern Galilee schools are working with industrialists to build a red, green, blue and white LED lighting system that will be used to teach Grade 9 students about photosynthesis. Several parts of the lighting system will be created on 3D printers. Students from the Danziger High School in Kiryat Shmona designed and produced plastic rings to make it easier to carry pop and other bottles. A student in the music program at Tel Hai designed and produced a guitar pick, while a father and son used the lab to design a protective cover for the son’s camera. They improved upon a design they found on the Internet, and designed and installed the cover within an hour. As chair of the Ottawa P2G committee, I have met the people behind these exciting projects. What they’re designing is less important than the fact that we’re helping develop the scientists and entrepreneurs of the future become leaders in cutting-edge technology. We’re making this happen in a region of Israel that has struggled economically and has seen many of its residents move south to escape wars and rocket attacks. We’re creating partnerships among communities and institutions in the Galilee Panhandle that have discovered the power of working together. And that’s even more exciting than printing a pair of shoes.

Jew-Day: Offensively named, but earnest in intention

used to host an annual party called Jew-Day. My high school friends who identiﬁed as half-Jewish because they had one Jewish and one non-Jewish parent would come over and we would light eight Chanukah candles and two Shabbat candles; spin dreidels and tell the Passover story; and eat latkes, Rideau Bakery cookies and stale matzo left over from last Pesach. The joke was that I was the one who, despite also not being 100 per cent [ethnically] Jewish, knew all the holiday prayers and customs, even to the point of knowing it was incorrect and inappropriate to casually bless everything at once and to mix up Shabbat and all the holidays on a Sunday afternoon. But, because I had eight years of Jewish day school behind me as scaffolding, on Jew-Day, for my half-Jewish friends, I was 100 per cent Jewish, as well as 100 per cent bubbe and zaide, Jewish mama and teenage-girl rabbi. I’m Not Jewish, But My Mother Is is a new play by [Ottawa actor and playwright] Steve Martin, that premiered this summer at the Gladstone Theatre. It was billed as a hilarious and boisterous romp of a family comedy. But the title also gives me pause. What makes Martin’s protagonist Jewish or not Jewish? What makes someone 100 per cent Jewish? What makes a person Jewish enough? I fear this may be a question of Jewish Arithmetic, passed on since Sinai by the people who can ﬁnd 613 mitzvot in a pomegranate. This is not New Math but Tricky Math, involving percentages, fractions and the concepts of “greater than, equal to, and less than.” Jewish Arithmetic: “OK, get out your pencils and some paper, and divide up your family tree, recipes and

SARAH WAISVISZ

DISPATCHES FROM THE DIASPORA DNA to calculate just how Jewish you really are. Remember, we are looking for fractions and percentages here, people, not jokes or monologues or four questions. This is Jewish Math!” A rather different set of results would emerge, if the instruction was to calculate how Jewish you seem to be according to other people’s opinions. In other words, if and how, other people recognize you as Jewish. This is the question of passing. Halachically, the protagonist of Martin’s play is 100 per cent Jewish, if his mother is. But, what if he doesn’t identify as Jewish? What if he doesn’t want to be Jewish? The subtext in the title is that he has rejected his Judaism or never identiﬁed with it in the ﬁrst place. Using my aforementioned Jewish Arithmetic skills, I can tally up the number of my friends who, because they have one Jewish parent and one non-Jewish parent, consider themselves half-Jews, rather than 100 per cent Jewish. Notice the implied inadequacy in their own terminology: Half-Jew. One friend, who was ceremoniously blessed and dunked in the mikvah by an Orthodox rabbi as an infant, still considers herself only a half-Jew. She was converted in infancy and has read The Diary of a

Young Girl by Anne Frank at least three times – and yet, because she has been made to feel less than, she will never feel equal to. I have a radical hypothesis. Had my mikvahed yet self-declared half-Jewish friend and her non-Jewish mother been welcomed more openly, I bet she would have grown up feeling 100 per cent Jewish. Not half. Not inadequate or defective in her Jewishness. Our community openly sustains a paradox: we worry about Jewish continuity, but do little to include and accept multi-faith families; mixed-race families; Jews of colour; Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in a predominantly Ashkenazic North America; adopted Jews; LGBTQ Jews; Jews who converted; progressive and feminist Jews; Reform, Reconstructionist, and Renewal Jews, etc. How do you define yourself Jewishly? What kind of Jewish Arithmetic would you use to define your affiliation and identity and why? If I admit here in print that I pray in Hebrew without transliteration; that only 50 per cent of my grandparents were Jewish; that I have learned to chant Torah and wear a tallit because it is a spiritual practice for me; but that I have never, not once, read Anne Frank, what percentage Jewish does that make me? Jew-Day. Offensively named, but absolutely earnest in its intention. We observed Jew-Day every year because my half-Jew friends yearned for something. They wanted to be invited to the party. On Jew-Day, as the twilight snow fell softly outside, I offered Kedem grape juice and led our alternative minyan in rousing renditions of “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel” and “Dayenu.” For a brief afternoon, we all felt like we counted. Like we belonged. Like we were enough.

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

The power of balance

ne of the leading causes of injury in people over 60 is falling. Balance is maintained by sensory information from three systems: vision; proprioception (touch sensors in the feet, trunk and spine); and the vestibular system (inner ear) (http://vestibular.org/node/2). Injuries and diseases to these systems can affect sensory input and balance. For example, cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration affect vision; diabetic neuropathy affects vision and proprioception; and benign tumours, viral infections and autoimmune inner ear disease affect the vestibular system. Less muscle mass, more fat or postural changes begin to naturally occur around age 40 and can impact balance. Therefore, people of all ages and fitness levels can benefit from improving their balance. Poor balance can lead to falls, which can result in fractures, especially if you have osteoporosis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of five hip fracture patients die from complications within a year of breaking a hip. Weak bones and weak muscles may be caused by a sedentary lifestyle, medical conditions, inadequate nutrition or a combination of all three. The good news is there are steps you can take to improve your balance. The first is to see your medical doctor if you feel your balance has declined. Your doctor may be able to identify the cause and treat you for any health-related issues. Your doctor may want to test you for nutritional deficiencies and may recommend dietary changes or supplements. If, for example, your diet is high in salty food, protein from animal sources or caffeinated beverages, you may be losing excess calcium from your bones. Excessive alcohol consumption is also a risk factor for osteoporosis and high cola consumption is correlated with bone mineral loss in females. Getting

GLORIA SCHWARTZ

FOCUS ON FITNESS Weight bearing exercise creates a mechanical load that sends signals to the bone-forming cells to build new bone tissue. ... Weight-bearing exercise also strengthens your muscles. With strong muscles, you’re less likely to fall; with strong bones, if you do fall, you’re less likely to fracture a bone. sufﬁcient calcium from food and vitamin D from food or natural sunlight may help offset some of the damage. Weight bearing exercise creates a mechanical load that sends signals to the bone-forming cells to build new bone tissue. Did you know that the cells in your skeleton regenerate and that your skeleton is completely replaced every 10 years or so? Weight-bearing exercise also strengthens your muscles. With strong muscles, you’re less likely to fall; with strong bones, if you do fall, you’re less likely to fracture a bone. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, walking makes you work against gravity while standing

upright and is therefore an excellent form of weight-bearing exercise. There are many kinds of exercises speciﬁcally aimed at improving your balance. Based on your current ability level, choose some exercises from my suggestions: Beginner: 1) Sit on a chair and stand up without using your arms for support. 2) Shift your weight while standing on both feet. 3) Stand on one leg while holding the back of a chair. Try it without holding on. Place your hands on your hips. How many seconds can you hold this position? Make it more challenging by doing upper body exercises at the same time, such as bicep curls with dumbbells. Intermediate: 1) Stand up from seated position on a bench or chair on one leg only. You can extend your arms forward to assist with your balance. Once you’re standing, carefully return to a seated position by lowering yourself on the same leg. Try this several times on each leg. 2) Change your base of support by placing your feet different distances apart while performing upper body exercises. The closer together you place your feet; the more you must work to maintain your balance. 3) Stand on one foot. Place the sole of your other foot against the inner calf or thigh of your standing leg. Place your palms together at chest level. Hold that position for up to thirty seconds then switch sides. Advanced: 1) Squat as low as you can on one leg, then stand up. Repeat several times per leg. 2) Squat on both legs on a BOSU ball (looks like a half ball). For maximum instability and challenge, squat on an inverted BOSU ball. 3) Step, jump or hop forwards, side to side or backwards as quickly as possible along an agility ladder. You can’t prevent every fall, but you can reduce your risk. Improving your lifestyle can help, regardless of your age. So can avoiding hazards such as rugs and icy patches or using a walking aid if needed. And if you trip or slip but have optimized your sense of balance, you may be able to land on your feet. That’s the power of balance.

Exciting year in store for Jewish university students in Ottawa

f there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years that I can be certain of, it’s that life never fails to throw you curve balls, constantly changing your plans, requiring you to adjust accordingly. These curve balls, unexpected changes to our plans, carry the potential to have both positive and negative effects on our lives. However, I like to believe that everything happens for a reason and that things tend to work out the way they should. I have recently been thrown a curve ball, requiring me to adjust my plans and stay in Ottawa for another year. I apologize for suggesting in my last Campus Life column (April 13) that I would be leaving this beautiful and vibrant city. I am so excited and grateful to have another year (or more!) here in Ottawa. This city has become a home to me, and I look forward to seeing what this year brings. It’s a new school year, offering everyone a fresh start and a clean slate. The beginning of every school year is ﬁlled with ample opportunities, be it getting involved in the Jewish student community, involving oneself in the invaluable experience of Israel advocacy, meeting new people, studying harder, socializing more frequently, and did I mention getting involved with Jewish student life on campus? Luckily for Jewish students on Ottawa’s university campuses, there are many social and cultural opportunities in which to involve ourselves in the Jewish community. With the High Holidays in full swing, the Chabad Student Network (CSN) has invited all Jewish students

ARIELLE ELLIS

CAMPUS LIFE

Take advantage of the clean slate this new school year brings, and embrace all of the exciting opportunities that are bound to come your way. Get involved in the community in any way you feel comfortable. Welcome the curve balls life throws your way with the conﬁdence that things will all turn out as they should. to its big dinner before Yom Kippur on September 22, to be followed by services. CSN will also host a break-fast the following night. During Sukkot, CSN’s main sukkah will be in front of Ottawa City Hall and meals and events will be held there throughout the holiday. CSN will wind up the holiday period with a Simchat Torah bash. Contact Rabbi Chaim Boyarsky at rabbichaimb@gmail.com

for information about any or all of these events. Hillel Ottawa will also be hosting cultural events for Sukkot, including Darbukah in the Sukkah with Cantor Daniel Benlolo. Look forward to a musical Kabbalat Shabbat, many Shabbat dinners, bagel lunches, and so much more. Visit www.hillelottawa.ca for details on upcoming events. It’s going to be a very exciting year for both Hillel Ottawa and the Chabad Student Network. Be sure not to miss out. All events are geared towards both undergrad and graduate students of all ages. Want the opportunity to visit Israel for free? Apply to Birthright Israel today! Registration is now open at www.israelforfree.com. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity. If you have any questions about Birthright or your eligibility, contact Scott Goldstein at director@hillelottawa.ca. Take advantage of the clean slate this new school year brings, and embrace all of the exciting opportunities that are bound to come your way. Get involved in the community in any way you feel comfortable. Welcome the curve balls life throws your way with the conﬁdence that things will all turn out as they should. I am sure this will be an exciting year. Looking forward to seeing you all, both old faces and new, around on campus and at community events. If you have any questions about Jewish student life on Ottawa’s campuses, don’t hesitate to contact me at ariellelvellis@gmail.com. I’m happy to answer any questions or address any concerns. Wishing everyone an easy and meaningful fast on Yom Kippur. Here’s to a great year to come!

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

foundation donations

| Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation

Our future is in your hands To make a donation and/or send a tribute card, call the Foundation office (613-798-4696 ext. 274) e-mail: tributecards@ojcf.ca website: www.OJCF.ca

Join us in building our community by supporting these local agencies AJA 50+ ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: Ida Glimcher by Frank and Margo Rosen. Sylvia Kaiman by Frank and Margo Rosen. Arthur Klein by Frank and Margo Rosen. JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES AGENCY FUND Anniversary Wishes to: Sara-Lynne Levine and Stanley Leinwand by Sandra and Norman Slover. Birthday Wishes to: Norman Wolfish by Sandra and Norman Slover. OTTAWA JEWISH COMMUNITY ENDOWMENT FUND Rosh Hashanah Wishes to: The Acel family by Maggie and Bob Lederman. The Gant family by Maggie and Bob Lederman. The Schachter family by Maggie and Bob Lederman. OTTAWA JEWISH COMMUNITY SCHOOL ENDOWMENT FUND Birthday Wishes to: Reuben Arbitman by Fran and Stan Ages. OTTAWA JEWISH COMMUNITY SCHOOL PARENT FUND R’fuah Sh’leimah to: Nathan Smith by Rena Kimia-Sabloff, Mitchell, Tara and Kayla Sabloff. AJA 50+ DAVID SMITH OTTAWA JEWISH COMMUNITY SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP FUND AKIVA EVENING HIGH SCHOOL ENDOWMENT FUND ADINA BEN PORAT MACHON SARAH TORAH EDUCATION FUND SHIRLEY AND SHIER BERMAN FUND FOR OTTAWA JEWISH ARCHIVES DORIS BRONSTEIN TALMUD TORAH AFTERNOON SCHOOL FUND BARRY FISHMAN OTTAWA JEWISH BULLETIN SCHOLARSHIP FUND MARTIN GLATT PARLIAMENT LODGE B’NAI BRITH PAST PRESIDENTS’ FUND MENDEL AND VALERIE GOOD HOLOCAUST CONTINUING EDUCATION FUND

GREENBERG FAMILIES LIBRARY FUND FUND FOR THE NEXT GENERATION HILLEL LODGE LEGACY FUND JEWISH COMMUNITY CEMETERY HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL FUND JEWISH MEN’S SOFTBALL LEAGUE FUND JEWISH STUDENTS ASSOCIATION HILLEL FUND JEWISH YOUTH LIBRARY OF OTTAWA ENDOWMENT FUND DAVID “THE BEAR” KARDASH CAMP B’NAI BRITH MEMORIAL FUND OTTAWA JEWISH CEMETERIES ZICHARON FUND OTTAWA JEWISH COMMUNITY SCHOOL AGENCY FUND OTTAWA JEWISH COMMUNITY SCHOOL CHILDREN OF THE BOOK AWARD FUND OTTAWA JEWISH COMMUNITY SCHOOL FUND IN MEMORY OF EVA WINTROB OTTAWA JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY FUND OTTAWA LODGE B’NAI BRITH #885 PAST PRESIDENTS FUND OTTAWA LODGE B’NAI BRITH #885 PRESIDENTS SCHOLARSHIP FUND OTTAWA MODERN JEWISH SCHOOL FUND OTTAWA POST JEWISH WAR VETERANS FUND OTTAWA TORAH INSTITUTE TORAH EDUCATION FUND PINCHAS ZUKERMAN MUSIC EDUCATION FUND RAMBAM MAIMONIDES JEWISH CONTINUITY FUND SOLOWAY JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTRE EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION FUND SOLOWAY JEWISH COMMUNITY SUMMER CAMP SCHOLARSHIP FUND SOLOWAY JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTRE ENDOWMENT FUND SOLOWAY JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTRE YOUTH SERVICES FUND TAMIR ENDOWMENT FUND TORAH ACADEMY OF OTTAWA TORAH EDUCATION FUND SARA AND ZEEV VERED ISRAEL CULTURAL PROGRAM FUND

The Board of Directors of the Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation acknowledges with thanks contributions to the following funds as of August 31, 2015. ABELSON FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: Phyllis Rackow by Lois and Bob Abelson. Milton Shaffer by Lois and Bob Abelson. MARJORIE AND BEN ACHBAR COMMUNITY ENDOWMENT FUND Anniversary Wishes to: Marjorie and Ben Achbar by Sheila Cooper. ROSE AND LOUIS ACHBAR MEMORIAL FUND Anniversary Wishes to: Marjorie and Ben Achbar by Zelda Freedman and family. FRANCEEN AND STANLEY AGES ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: Sam Ages by Fran and Stan Ages. Dora Goldsmith by Fran and Stan Ages. Sylvia Kaiman by Fran and Stan Ages. Milton Shaffer by Fran and Stan Ages. Rosh Hashanah Wishes to: Fran and Stan Ages and family by Sandy Marchello. HILDA AGES MEMORIAL FUND In Memory of: Sam Ages by Shirley Halpern and family. MARY AND ISRAEL (AL) ALLICE MEMORIAL FUND Anniversary Wishes to: Gordon and Myra Allice by Beverly and Irving Swedko. APPOTIVE FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: Sylvia Kaiman by Sharon and Jeff Appotive. ANNE AND LOUIS ARRON MEMORIAL FUND Birthday Wishes to: Dorothy Hymes by Daphne and Stanley Arron. RICKI AND BARRY BAKER ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: Bill Silverman by Ricki and Barry Baker. JOSHUA BARAK AND ASHIRA PRIZANT FAMILY FOUNDATION Mazel Tov to: Linda and Harry Prizant on their marriage by Jonathan, Aviva, Liat, Tal-Or, Elishua BenChoreen. NORMAN AND MYRNA BARWIN FOUNDATION OF THE PINCHAS ZUKERMAN MUSICAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND In Memory of: Phyllis Rackow by Norman and Myrna Barwin. Roel Joseph Wyman by Norman and Myrna Barwin.

CAYLA AND MICHAEL BAYLIN ENDOWMENT FUND Birthday Wishes to: Norman Wolfish by Cayla Baylin. In Memory of: Michael Baylin by Yvonne and Harvey Lithwick and family. MARTIN AND ELLIE BLACK ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: David Ben-Reuven by Marty and Ellie Black. Sylvia Kaiman by Marty and Ellie Black. CHANI AND BRAM BREGMAN JEWISH EDUCATION FUND Birthday Wishes to: Adeera and Yitzchak Bregman by Ethlyn, Barry and Sarah Agulnik. TILLIE AND HARRY CHERM MEMORIAL FUND In Memory of: Sylvia Kaiman by Harry and Sally Weltman; by Susan Hart; by Jeff, Julie, Neil and Gary Fine; by Ian Schwey and family; by Kim Miyanishi; by Sandy Marchello; by Wilma and Philip Pinkus; by Sandi and Ken Cole; and by Miriam Levitin. HOWARD, JEFFREY, ANDREW, MICHAEL, GREGORY AND ZACHARY COGAN SCHOLARSHIP FUND Rosh Hashanah Wishes to: Andrew and Lesley Cogan by Fred and Lisa Cogan. Greg B Cogan by Fred and Lisa Cogan. Howie and Rebecca Cogan by Fred and Lisa Cogan. Jeffrey Cogan and family by Fred and Lisa Cogan. Michael Cogan by Fred and Lisa Cogan. Zak Cogan by Fred and Lisa Cogan. Carol Greenberg and family by Fred and Lisa Cogan and family. Susan and Rachel Katz and Lawrence Hercz by Fred and Lisa Cogan and family. Harvey and Judi Nightingale by Fred and Lisa Cogan and family. Gail and Stephen Victor by Fred and Lisa Cogan and family. SANDI AND EDDY COOK ENDOWMENT FUND Birthday Wishes to: Steve Courey by Sandi and Eddy Cook and family. Judith Stoler by Sandi and Eddy Cook and family. NATHAN AND REBA DIENER ENDOWMENT FUND In Observance of the Yahrzeit of: Nathan Diener, a dear husband, father and grandfather by Reba Diener. ISAAC AND DORA FAGIN MEMORIAL FUND In Observance of the Yahrzeit of: Sidney Halpern, a dear father by Shirley Halpern and family. Freida Halpern, a dear mother by Shirley Halpern and family. Continued on page 24

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

foundation donations BARBARA AND LEN FARBER ENDOWMENT FUND Mazel Tov to: Barbara and Len Farber on the engagement of their son, Michael to Leah by Joany and Andy Katz. ELLEN AND RAHAMIM FATHI ENDOWMENT FUND R’fuah Sh’leimah to: Alexis Griller by Ellen Fathi and family. SHARON AND PAUL FINN ENDOWMENT FUND Mazel Tov to: Yaacov and Alissa Attias on Caryn’s engagement by Sharon and Paul Finn. Andre Ibghy on being the Chief Architect and Designer of the new Shriners Hospital for Children in Montreal by Sharon and Paul Finn and family. Stephen and Debbie Schneiderman on the birth of their granddaughter, Ruby by Sharon and Paul Finn. Norman and Carole Zagerman on the marriage of Andrea to Bruce Stark by Sharon and Paul Finn. LAWRENCE AND AUDREY FREIMAN FUND FOR CHILDREN WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES In Memory of: Mary Dubinsky by Susan and Stan Bornstein.

| Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation

ALFRED AND KAYSA FRIEDMAN ENDOWMENT FUND R’fuah Sh’leimah to: Sandra Zunder by Alfred and Kaysa Friedman. ROBERT AND LEAH GENCHER FAMILY FUND In Observance of the Yahrzeit of: Bat Sheva Engel, a beloved mother by Leah Gencher. GILBOA/MAOZ FAMILY FUND Mazel Tov to: Heather Bowerk and Eitan Maoz on their marriage by Helen and Chaim Gilboa. Shauna and Jonathan Gilboa on Aaron’s Bar Mitzvah by Helen and Chaim Gilboa. Sarah and Paz Maoz on their marriage by Helen and Chaim Gilboa. Amanda and Ryan Steiner on their marriage by Helen and Chaim Gilboa. Tal and Rob Steiner on the marriages of their three children by Helen and Chaim Gilboa.

HANSER FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND In Observance of the Yahrzeit of: Abe Hanser, a dear uncle by Isabel Lesh and family. Annie Hanser-Lang, a dear aunt by Isabel Lesh and family. DOROTHY AND HY HYMES ENDOWMENT FUND Birthday Wishes to: Dorothy Hymes by Joan Bloom; by Blossom Read; and by Dundi and Lyon Sachs. Mazel Tov to: Dorothy Hymes on the birth of her great-grandson, Tyler by Blossom Read. Carole and Norman Zagerman on Andrea’s marriage to Bruce Stark by Dorothy Hymes. CHERYL AND ANDRE IBGHY ENDOWMENT FUND Mazel Tov to: Linda Slotin and Jonathan Fisher on their upcoming marriage by Cheryl Lesh-Ibghy and Andre Ibghy.

ANN AND LEON GLUZMAN MEMORIAL FUND Mazel Tov to: Beverly and David Gluzman on the birth of their grandson by Ingrid Levitz and family.

INY FAMILY FUND Birthday Wishes to: Avraham Iny by Ian and Melissa Shabinsky and family; and by Mark and Lynn Shabinsky and family.

JEFFREY AND ENID GOULD FAMILY FUND Birthday Wishes to: Norman Wolfish by Enid and Jeff Gould.

JEREMY KANTER MEMORIAL FUND Mazel Tov to: Lynda and Steven Latner on the engagement of their son, Jack to Marci by Evelyn Eisenberg. Rosh Hashanah Wishes to: Steven and Lynda Latner by Julie and Jonah Kanter. SAMUEL AND TILLIE KARDISH MEMORIAL FUND Mazel Tov to: Rabbi Idan Scher on his installation ceremony to become Rabbi at Congregation Machzikei Hadas by Cheryl Kardish-Levitan and Brian Levitan and family. LIBBY AND STAN KATZ FAMILY COMMUNITY ENDOWMENT FUND Rosh Hashanah Wishes to: Libby Katz by Shirley Halpern and family. Mazel Tov to: Libby Katz on the engagement of her grandson, Michael to Leah by Joany and Andy Katz. SYD, ETHEL, LINDA AND STEVEN KERZNER AND FAMILY COMMUNITY ENDOWMENT FUND Birthday Wishes to: Martin Kerzner by Anna Silverman and Ralph Pepper. ARTHUR AND SARAH KIMMEL MEMORIAL FUND In Memory of: Milton Shaffer by Carol-Sue and Jack Shapiro. In Observance of the Yahrzeit of: Arthur Kimmel, a dear father and grandfather by Isabel Lesh and family. DANIEL AND MARILYN KIMMEL ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: Milton Shaffer by Marilyn and Will Newman.

SHARON KOFFMAN ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP FUND In Memory of: Milton Shaffer by Sandra Zagon. Roel Wyman by Sandra Zagon. Mazel Tov to: Linda and Harry Prizant on their marriage by Sandra Zagon. Carole and Norman Zagerman on Andrea’s marriage to Bruce Stark by Sandra Zagon. KRANTZBERG KRANE FAMILY FUND In Memory of: Phyllis Rackow by Myra and Sam Krane and family. SUSAN AND DAVID KRIGER ENDOWMENT FUND In Observance of the Yahrzeit of: Kenneth M. Ain, a dear father by Susan and David Kriger. ISSIE AND EDITH LANDAU ENDOWMENT FUND R’fuah Sh’leimah to: Nachum Lichtenstein by Edie Landau. NORMAN AND ISABEL LESH ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: Carole and Norman Zagerman on Andrea’s marriage to Bruce Stark by Isabel Lesh. Norman Lesh by Lois and Bob Abelson; by Chuck and Adrienne Shabsove; by Ron Cherney and Deborah Ferris; by Dan Palayew and Jocelyn Kapusta; by Carol and Laurie Pascoe; and by Deborah Magidson. THE LEVITZ FAMILY FUND Anniversary Wishes to: Carol and Laurie Pascoe by Ingrid Levitz. Birthday Wishes to: Susan Weiner by Ingrid Levitz. JOSEPH AND EVELYN LIEFF ENDOWMENT FUND Anniversary Wishes to: Zelaine and Sol Shinder by Evelyn Lieff. Birthday Wishes to: Dorothy Hymes by Evelyn Lieff. Phyllis Silverman by Evelyn Lieff. In Memory of: Sam Ages by Evelyn Lieff. Sylvia Kaiman by Evelyn Lieff. Phyllis Rackow by Evelyn Lieff. Milton Shaffer by Evelyn Lieff. Elaine Singer by Evelyn Lieff. Mazel Tov to: Stanley and Daphne Arron on the marriage of Andrea to Bruce Stark by Evelyn Lieff. Evelyn Lieff on her grandson, Zachary Resnick being called to the Bar by Blossom Read. Ruth Milne on becoming a greatgrandmother by Evelyn Lieff. Bernice Resnick on becoming a greatgrandmother by Evelyn Lieff. Cindi and Mark Resnick on the birth of their granddaughter, Sloan Hannah Resnick by Evelyn Lieff. Norman and Carole Zagerman on the marriage of Andrea to Bruce Stark by Evelyn Lieff. Continued on page 25

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

foundation donations IDIT AND JOSHUA LOWENSTEIN FAMILY FOUNDATION Mazel Tov to: Linda and Harry Prizant on their marriage by Jonathan, Aviva, Liat, Tal-Or, Elishua Ben-Choreen. RHODA AND JEFFREY MILLER FAMILY FUND Mazel Tov to: Rhoda and Jeff Miller on the marriage of their son, Howard to Sarah by Mark and Cindi Resnick. Rhoda and Jeff Miller on the marriage of their daughter, Sara to Joe by Mark and Cindi Resnick. POSEN FAMILY FUND In Memory of: Gerald Posen by the Finstein family. PHYLLIS AND ALAN RACKOW ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: Phyllis Rackow by Randi and Ian Sherman; by Gary and Jody Roodman; and by Marilyn and Will Newman. ALTI AND BEREL RODAL FAMILY FUND In Memory of: Sam Ages by Alti and Berel Rodal. Gerald Posen by Alti and Berel Rodal. Mazel Tov to: Barbara and Len Farber on their son, Michael’s engagement to Leah by Alti and Berel Rodal. Gary and Linda Goldberg on the upcoming marriage of Shira and Alex by Alti and Berel Rodal. Chana Raizel and Sender Kagan on the upcoming marriage of Yossi and Chanie, Shany and Yanki by Alti and Berel Rodal. Tali and Kate Loewenthal on Yossi’s Bar Mitzvah by Alti and Berel Rodal. Yitzi and Rochel Loewenthal on Yossi’s Bar Mitzvah by Alti and Berel Rodal. Cindi and Mark Resnick on the birth of their granddaughter, Sloan Hannah Resnick by Alti and Berel Rodal. Menachem and Shterna Rodal on Yossi’s Bar Mitzvah by Alti and Berel Rodal. Vera and Jozef Straus on the marriage of Alex and Rachael by Alti and Berel Rodal. FLORENCE AND GDALYAH ROSENFELD ENDOWMENT FUND In Appreciation to: Carol Greenberg by Anita Rosenfeld. In Memory of: Jenny Veronica Paroli by Anita Rosenfeld. SAMUEL AND RUTH ROTHMAN MEMORIAL FUND In Memory of: Sam Ages by Sheldon and Corinne Taylor. Norman Lesh by Sheldon and Corinne Taylor. Mazel Tov to: Barbara and Len Farber on the marriage of their son, Michael to Leah by Sue and Steve Rothman. Shelley Rothman on the birth of her grandson, Jacob Sidney by Sheldon and Corinne Taylor and family.

| Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation

SHELLEY AND SID ROTHMAN FAMILY FUND Mazel Tov to: Rhoda and Jeff Miller on their son, Howard’s marriage to Sarah by Shelley Rothman. Shelley Rothman on the birth of her grandson, Jacob Sidney by Sue and Steve Rothman. Shelley Rothman on the birth of her granddaughter, Sydney Blair by Sue and Steve Rothman; and by Gary and Jody Roodman. SAND FAMILY MEMORIAL FUND In Memory of: Sam Ages by Allan and Linda Sand. ELAYNE AND WESLEY SCHACTER ENDOWMENT FUND Mazel Tov to: Cindi and Mark Resnick on the birth of their granddaughter, Sloan Hannah Resnick by Elayne and Wesley Schacter. AL AND BETTY SEGAL MEMORIAL FUND Mazel Tov to: Ellie and Max Greenberg on Jordana and Matt’s upcoming wedding by Shelley and Martin Goldenberg. SOL AND ZELAINE SHINDER ENDOWMENT FUND Anniversary Wishes to: Sol and Zelaine Shinder by Adele and Bernard Shinder; by Laya and Sol Shabinsky; and by Simone Gardner and family. FAY AND JOSEPH SHULMAN ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: Stanley Clayman by Nadine and Brian Mordfield; and by Rochelle and Alex Mordfield and family. JACK AND SARAH SILVERSTEIN FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: Sylvia Kaiman by Jack, Sarah, David and Lev Silverstein. SAM AND SUE SLACK ENDOWMENT FUND Mazel Tov to: Allan Kathnelson and Judith Robertson on Zachary’s marriage to Sarah by Sharon, David, Ryan, Yoni, Jaye and Brody Appotive. Paul and Jewel Lowenstein on the marriage of their daughter, Jordana to Matt Shane by Sharon and David Appotive; and by Joy and Seymour Mender and families. Jordana Sanft and Matt Shane on their marriage by Sharon and David Appotive; and by Joy and Seymour Mender and families. R’fuah Sh’leimah to: Judith Robertson by Sharon, David, Ryan, Yoni, Jaye and Brody Appotive. LINDA SLOTIN AND JONATHAN FISHER ENDOWMENT FUND Birthday Wishes to: Norman Wolfish by Linda Slotin Jonathan Fisher. Mazel Tov to: Linda Slotin and Jonathan Fisher their upcoming marriage by Evan, Melisa Isaac; and by Roslyn and Arnie Kimmel family.

and on and and

PATRICIA SMOLKIN MEMORIAL FUND Condolences to: Annice Kronick on the loss of her dear mother, Marjorie by Carol-Sue and Jack Shapiro. Rosh Hashanah Wishes to: Michael, Nikki, Neilah and Ben Shapiro by Carol-Sue and Jack Shapiro. CASEY AND BESS SWEDLOVE ENDOWMENT FUND Anniversary Wishes to: Marjorie and Ben Achbar by Carol-Sue and Jack Shapiro. Rosh Hashanah Wishes to: Cantor David and Gita Aptowitzer and family by Carol-Sue and Jack Shapiro. Allan and Alyce Baker and family by Carol-Sue and Jack Shapiro. Cantor Daniel and Muriel Benlolo and family by Carol-Sue and Jack Shapiro. Rabbi and Chevy Fine and family by Carol-Sue and Jack Shapiro. Margo and David Kardish and family by Carol-Sue and Jack Shapiro. Marilyn and Daniel Kimmel and family by Carol-Sue and Jack Shapiro. Roz and Arnie Kimmel and family by Carol-Sue and Jack Shapiro. Isabel Lesh and family by Carol-Sue and Jack Shapiro. THE TARANTOUR FAMILY FUND In Memory of: Arthur Klein by Ann Lazear and family. Phyllis Rackow by Ann Lazear and family; and by Teena and Uri Goldberg and family. LISE AND MARK THAW FAMILY FUND Rosh Hashanah Wishes to: Donna and Josh Cohen by Lise, Mark, Alayna and Bryan Thaw.

Stan and Gail Hitzig by Lise, Mark, Alayna and Bryan Thaw. Joany and Andy Katz and family by Lise, Mark, Alayna and Bryan Thaw. Dorothy Nadolny by Lise, Mark, Alayna and Bryan Thaw. Norman and Elsa Swedko by Lise, Mark, Alayna and Bryan Thaw. Barbara Thaw by Lise, Mark, Alayna and Bryan Thaw. Liz Vered and family by Lise, Mark, Alayna and Bryan Thaw. STEPHEN AND GAIL VICTOR ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: Sylvia Kaiman by Stephen and Gail Victor. Mazel Tov to: Andrea Arron on her marriage to Bruce Stark by Gail and Stephen Victor. Daphne and Stanley Arron on Andrea’s marriage to Bruce Stark by Gail and Stephen Victor. Carole and Norman Zagerman on Andrea’s marriage to Bruce Stark by Gail and Stephen Victor. RUTH AND JOSEPH VINER ENDOWMENT FUND Birthday Wishes to: Howard Appotive by Ruth Viner. Murray Macy by Ruth Viner. Mazel Tov to: Bonnie and Mel Bauer on their son’s marriage by Shirley Halpern and family. Ivy Mittelman on her daughter’s marriage by Shirley Halpern and family. Gary and Debra Viner on their daughter, Alisa’s marriage by Shirley Halpern and family. Continued on page 26

Donating made easy at www.OJCF.ca Donations can be made for all occasions and life-cycle events. Use our online donation form to send one or multiple tribute cards to your friends and loved ones in one secure transaction. Charitable receipts are issued and sent directly to your email account.

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September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

foundation donations Ruth Viner on her granddaughter, Alisa’s marriage by Shirley Halpern and family. MIRIAM AND LOUIS WEINER ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: Phyllis Rackow by Carol Gradus. MILDRED AND PERCY WEINSTEIN ENDOWMENT FUND Birthday Wishes to: Dorothy Hymes by Millie Weinstein. In Memory of: Abraham Bookman by Ron Cherney and Deborah Ferris. Joan Levine by Millie Weinstein. Mazel Tov to: Barbara and Steve Levinson on the birth of their grandson by Millie Weinstein. R’fuah Sh’leimah to: David Loeb by Millie Weinstein. SAM AND HELENE ZARET MEMORIAL FUND Anniversary Wishes to: Sharon and David Appotive by Debi and Neil Zaret and family. Graciela and Buddy Steinberg by Debi and Neil Zaret and family. Mazel Tov to: Cindi and Mark Resnick on the birth of their granddaughter, Sloan Hannah by Debi and Neil Zaret and family.

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ZIPES KARANOFSKY FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND Mazel Tov to: Earl Karanofsky on being awarded the Dr. Ralph Silverstone Teaching Award by Rick and Helen Zipes. Gary and Debra Viner on their daughter, Alisa’s marriage to Jeff by Rick and Helen Zipes. SANDRA AND SAM ZUNDER ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory of: Mark Putterman by Sandra and Sam Zunder and families. Phyllis Rackow by Sandra and Sam Zunder and families. THE WOMEN’S COLLECTIVE PHILANTHROPY PROGRAM Providing support for services and programs that directly benefit women and children. WOMEN’S COLLECTIVE ENDOWMENT FUND Mazel Tov to: Janet Dollin and Zave Chad on the birth of their grandson, Noah by Lynne Oreck-Wener and Bob Wener. Rosh Hashanah Wishes to: Laura Goldstein and Boaz Rotaro by Eileen Melnick McCarthy, Stuart, Josh and Amanda McCarthy. Barbara and Barry Mandelker and family

by Eileen Melnick McCarthy, Stuart, Josh and Amanda McCarthy. Mitchell and Carolyn Melnick by Eileen Melnick McCarthy, Stuart, Josh and Amanda McCarthy. Shirley and Phil Melnick by Eileen Melnick McCarthy, Stuart, Josh and Amanda McCarthy. Lauren and Zvi Shaps by Eileen Melnick McCarthy, Stuart, Josh and Amanda McCarthy. Joy and Sandy Smith and family by Eileen Melnick McCarthy, Stuart, Josh and Amanda McCarthy. THE SAUL AND EDNA GOLDFARB B’NAI MITZVAH PROGRAM STACEY SAMANTHA KATZ B’NAI MITZVAH FUND Mazel Tov to: Rhoda and Jeff Miller on the marriage of their daughter, Sara to Joe Fishman by Joany and Andy Katz. Rhoda and Jeff Miller on the marriage of their son, Howard to Sarah by Joany and Andy Katz. Cindi and Mark Resnick on the birth of their granddaughter, Sloan Hannah Resnick by Joany and Andy Katz. LIEFF FAMILY B’NAI MITZVAH FUND In Memory of: Norman Lesh by Francie Greenspoon and Norman Lieff.

The Warsaw Ghetto as imagined through the eyes of a young boy The Book of Aron: A Novel By Jim Shepard Knopf 260 pages

n The Book of Aron, Jim Shepard, an American author of Irish-Italian Catholic background, attempts to imagine the life of Jewish children during the three years of the Warsaw Ghetto. Imagination is needed as there are few witnesses. German Nazi policy was to kill the children first. The story is told in the first person, in Aron’s voice. At first, it is reminiscent of other novels with child narrators, like Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Sholom Aleichem’s Motl the Cantor’s Son. The sentences are short and uncomplicated, the words simple. There are comic passages. But this is the Warsaw Ghetto and the light soon fades. Aron begins life as one of the children in a poor shtetl family. He is small, socially awkward, and not good in school. “The years went by like one unhappy day.” In 1936, the family moves to Warsaw because there is a factory job there for Aron’s father. Aron is nine in 1939 when the Germans come and the reign of degradation begins. For a while, this is an opportunity for Aron. The Germans confine the Jews in a walled and hungry ghetto, and keep reducing its size. Aron becomes part of a group of child smugglers, who know where the holes are, and how to navigate among the yellow police, the blue police, and the green police – the Jews, the Poles, and the Germans.

MURRAY CITRON

BOOK REVIEW He can, for the ﬁrst time, do something for his family. Then he is recruited and used by a yellow police ofﬁcer. The results are tragic. Aron does not judge his own or anyone’s behaviour. He narrates it. For Jews, the Shoah is a loss we feel every day. For non-Jews, it is an event whose main characteristic is strangeness, and they try to understand it. Shepard gives an impressive list of Jewish Holocaust writing that he has read and people he has consulted. He has explored Warsaw. The study of Jews does not lead to understanding the Holocaust. For that, a study of Germans is needed. The Book of Aron is effective in exploring the way people may have lived in the conditions of hunger and fear that the German Nazis created. A mark of its effectiveness is that it bears comparison with Chava Rosenfarb’s three-volume Yiddish novel, The Tree of Life, set in the Lodz Ghetto. Rosenfarb did not need to do research for her work. She lived in Lodz and was 17 when that ghetto was instituted.

Mazel Tov to: Cindi and Mark Resnick on the birth of their granddaughter, Sloan Hannah Resnick by Francie Greenspoon and Norman Lieff. JORDAN H. MORGAN B’NAI MITZVAH FUND In Memory of: Sylvia Kaiman by Sarah Beutel and Steven Morgan. YISRAEL SHMUEL PRIZANT B’NAI MITZVAH FUND Mazel Tov to: Linda and Harry Prizant on their marriage by Jonathan, Aviva, Liat, Tal-Or, Elishua BenChoreen. HANNAH SACHS B’NAI MITZVAH FUND Birthday Wishes to: Kevin Barwin by Hannah, Tommy, Michelle and Richard Sachs.

Contributions may be made online at www.OJCF.ca or by contacting the office at 613-798-4696 extension 274, Monday to Friday or by email at tributecards@ojcf.ca. Attractive cards are sent to convey the appropriate sentiments. All donations are acknowledged with a charitable receipt.

Her novel –also available in English translation – is based on her own experience and written on the model of Tolstoy, with many characters and interlocking subplots. Aron’s family disintegrates. His friends catch on to his connection with the police and cut him off. At rock bottom, he is admitted into Dr. Janusz Korczak’s orphanage. Korczak is portrayed as a weary and despondent man, determined to do his best for the children, spending his days begging for supplies. Shepard is interested in the ambiguity of human conduct under extreme conditions. Korczak was known to be a heroic ﬁgure who refused chances to escape and stayed with his children until the end. That heroism is part of the story Shepard tells. Sadly, in the circumstances, it is ambiguous. The Warsaw Ghetto was liquidated in 1942. In the book, Korczak organizes the children in a column and leads the parade to the railway siding where they will be loaded for Treblinka. If he had not done so, some would have suffered more in the disorder. Some would have been killed sooner. But the Germans would have had more trouble. And who can know? Maybe some of the children would have escaped. The evacuation is supervised by an SS ofﬁcer named Witossek. Witossek apologized for the necessity of what had to happen and said he hoped Korczak understood the necessity was one thing and the people who had to carry it out were another. He said he wanted the good doctor to know that what was going to happen was going to happen and that how everyone chose to face it would be the point. “I agree with you,” Korczak said. That is as close as the book comes to an explanation of the Holocaust.

September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM

what’s going on | September 21 to October 11, 2015 F O R M O R E C A L E N D A R L I S T I N G S , V I S I T W W W. OT TA W A J E W I S H B U L L E T I N . CO M / C A L E N D A R A N D W W W. J E W I S H OT TA W A . CO M / CO M M U N I T Y- C A L E N D A R

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 Rav Barry’s Parshat Hashavua classes: Monday mornings following Shacharit, until May 31. Repeated Shabbat mornings just prior to davening. Agudath Israel Congregation, 1400 Coldrey Ave., 8:55 am. Info: Miriam Lerson, 613-728-3501, clergy.support@agudathisrael.net Jewish Federation of Ottawa Superweek/Telethon: 6 to 8:30 pm. Info: Dawn Paterson, 613-798-4696, ext. 272, dpaterson@jewishottawa.com Ottawa Talmud Circle: Open to all interested in learning Talmud and actively engaging with it. First and third Mondays. The Glebe Minyan, 64 Powell Ave., 7 pm. Info: Talia Johnson, talia@taliacjohnson.ca THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 Yeshivat Tikvah for public high school students: Contemporary Issues and Jewish Law. Beit Tikvah Congregation, 15 Chartwell Ave., 4:15 pm. Every Thursday until December 31, 2015. Info/Registration: Rabbi Howard Finkelstein, 613-723-1800, rabbihoward.ﬁnkelstein@gmail.com March of the Living Information Meeting: Open to Jewish students in grades 10-12 ,the 2016 March of the Living will take place in early May. The meeting

will provide information on the two-week trip (one in Poland/one in Israel). Students and their parents are welcome to hear about this life-changing experience. Registration will open in late September, 7 pm. Info: Benita Siemiatycki, 613-798-4644, bsiemiatycki@jewishottawa.com SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 Our Community, The Federal Election and You: A discussion about the issues: Agudath Israel Adult Education Committee invites all to join a Shacharit and meaningful lecture by CIJA’s Martin Sampson. Stay for breakfast (nominal fee) and continue the discussion about the issues and political engagement during this election campaign. Agudath Israel Congregation, 1400 Coldrey Ave., 8:30 am. Info: Miriam Lerson, 613-728-3501, clergy.support@agudathisrael.net PJ Library School Age Book Club Adventure: Join the SJCC for a PJ Library book reading with a mitzvot, tikun olam or Pirkei Avot lesson plus crafts and activities related to the story, 10:30 am. Info: Gail Lieff, 613-798-9818, ext. 303, glief@jccottawa.com MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 Cheshbon HaNefesh, An Introduction to Mussar: A self-development program of guided study and reﬂection. The Glebe Minyan, 64 Powell Ave., 7 pm. Info: Anna Maranta, 613-867-5505, maranta.anna@gmail.com

MONDAY AND TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 AND 29 Sukkot Camp: Agudath Israel invites children from kindergarten to grade 8 to join a special Junior Congregation service, Lulav and Etrog-shaking, lunch in the Sukkah, games, and more. Agudath Israel Congregation, 1400 Coldrey Ave., 8:30 am. Info/register: Emily Anzarouth, youth@agudathisrael.net THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8 CHOICES: Keynote speaker, Julia Koschitzky, chose to say “yes” to community involvement, paving the way to becoming an activist, philanthropist and respected leader of Canadian and world Jewry. She will share how her choices set her on a path of communal commitment. Agudath Israel Congregation, 1400 Coldrey Ave., 6 pm. Info: Dung Luu, 613-798-4696, ext. 305, dluu@jewishottawa.com CANDLE LIGHTING BEFORE

YOM KIPPUR SEPTEMBER 22 6:40 PM SEPTEMBER 25 6:35 PM SUKKOT FIRST DAY SEPTEMBER 27 6:31 PM SUKKOT SECOND DAY SEPTEMBER 28 AFTER 7:31 PM

OCTOBER 2 6:21 PM SHEMINI ATZERET OCTOBER 4 6:17 PM SIMCHAT TORAH OCTOBER 5 AFTER 7:18 PM OCTOBER 9 6:08 PM OCTOBER 16 5:56 PM

BULLETIN DEADLINES

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21

FOR OCTOBER 26 FOR NOVEMBER 9

UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ACTIVITIES TAKE PLACE AT THE JOSEPH AND ROSE AGES FAMILY BUILDING, 21 NADOLNY SACHS PRIVATE

condolences Condolences are extended to the families of: Nancy Bercovitch Harry Cogan Berte Ginsberg, Winnipeg (mother of Karen Ginsberg)

The Condolence Column is offered as a public service to the community. There is no charge. For listing in this column, please call 613 798-4696, ext. 274. Voice mail is available.

May their memory be a blessing always.

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September 21, 2015 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM